servant
Americannoun
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servants
plural
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a person employed by another, especially to perform domestic duties.
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a person in the service of another.
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a person employed by the government.
a public servant.
noun
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a person employed to work for another, esp one who performs household duties
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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:
"Nothing encourages having even a single child," said Jaouadi, a civil servant, blaming Tunisia's current economic woes and social climate.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
Sir David Bell, a former Ofsted chief inspector and senior civil servant at the Department for Education, is now vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The civil servant from Cardiff used the money towards a house deposit earlier this year with her partner.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The BEA is led by a civil servant, Vipin Arora, who started his job during the Biden administration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
It was deeply ingrained in the culture, and it seemed that everyone—man, woman, and child; farmer, civil servant, or doctor—played chess.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Instead, to date, some 62,000 have signed up, ranging from laid-off tech workers to former civil servants trying to make a career pivot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The victims included a former mayor, civil servants and business people from other parts of the state.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
It remains to be seen what security vetting will be used for civil servants working with the National Committee.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
In a statement, a spokesperson for the DOJ said its attorneys are “dedicated public servants who represent the United States with integrity, in accordance with their ethical obligations and the law.”
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
Butler John Freeman served wine to everyone, including the 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.
