servant
Americannoun
-
servants
plural
-
a person employed by another, especially to perform domestic duties.
-
a person in the service of another.
-
a person employed by the government.
a public servant.
noun
-
a person employed to work for another, esp one who performs household duties
-
See public servant
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of servant
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French, noun use of present participle of servir to serve; see -ant
Explanation
A servant works at someone’s home, often doing lowly tasks. You might feel like a servant when your mom insists that you do the dishes before you can do anything fun, but think how she feels cooking dinner every day! If you’re a servant, you serve someone else. In that 1930s mystery novel, chances are the rich family had servants to set the table and do the laundry. Nowadays, calling someone who does those things a servant has an insulting connotation. If you think your hard work gets no respect, you might feel like a servant. But people who work for the government like to be called "public servants," because they serve the good of public and not themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing servant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“A hailstorm in ‘74 taught me servant leadership,” he told me.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Pushpa Sundar, who briefly served as a civil servant and has written extensively on development issues, says officers can face political pressure and transfers when they refuse to comply with demands.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
The report from an investigative committee headed by a retired senior civil servant found "systemic and institutional failure" which meant what began as an electrical spark became a "catastrophe".
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
The US military presence will remain a major issue for Koja, a former civil servant who was also a deputy mayor of Naha, the region's capital city.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
There was no reason why the servant should not open that door.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
“As we honor him tonight, we also call on public employers to listen to their employees’ safety concerns and take meaningful action to protect the public servants who keep our communities moving.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Favorite subjects included “struggling civil servants and the shabby humiliations endured by the failing gentry.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
“Indentured servants and enslaved people in his household could also have been used, although we may never know for certain.”
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Dangote wanted this to be "the people's IPO" with drivers, cooks, cleaners and servants having the chance to be part of something big.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
In January 1801, she emancipated her late husband’s servants.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
