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• service
  service

  noun

  an act of helpful activity; help; aid.
• Service
  Service

  noun

  Robert W(illiam), 1874–1958, Canadian writer, born in England.

service

¹ American  

[sur-vis] / ˈsɜr vɪs /

noun

1. an act of helpful activity; help; aid.

   to do someone a service.

2. the supplying or supplier of utilities or commodities, as water, electricity, or gas, required or demanded by the public.

3. the providing or a provider of accommodation and activities required by the public, as maintenance, repair, etc..

   The manufacturer guarantees service and parts.

4. the organized system of apparatus, appliances, employees, etc., for supplying some accommodation required by the public.

   a television repair service.

5. the supplying or a supplier of public communication and transportation: bus service.

   telephone service;

   bus service.

6. the performance of duties or the duties performed as or by a waiter or servant; occupation or employment as a waiter or servant.

7. employment in any duties or work for a person, organization, government, etc.

8. a department of public employment, an administrative division of a government, or the body of public servants in it.

   the diplomatic service.

9. the duty or work of public servants.

10. the serving of a sovereign, state, or government in some official capacity.

11. Military.

    1. the armed forces.

       in the service.

    2. a branch of the armed forces, as the army or navy.

       Which service were you in during the war?

12. Ordnance. the actions required in loading and firing a cannon.

    service of the piece.

13. Often services the performance of any duties or work for another; helpful or professional activity.

    medical services.

14. something made or done by a commercial organization for the public benefit and without regard to direct profit.

    Certain books are published at a loss as a public service.

15. Also called divine service.  public religious worship according to prescribed form and order.

16. a ritual or form prescribed for public worship or for some particular occasion.

    the marriage service.

17. the serving of God by obedience, piety, etc..

    voluntary service.

18. a musical setting of the sung portions of a liturgy.

19. a set of dishes, utensils, etc., for general table use or for particular use.

    a tea service;

    service for eight.

20. answering service.

21. Law. the serving of a process or writ upon a person.

22. Nautical. tarred spun yarn or other small stuff for covering the exterior of a rope.

23. (in tennis, badminton, handball, etc.)

    1. the act or manner of putting the ball or shuttlecock into play; serve.

    2. the ball or shuttlecock as put into play.

24. the mating of a female animal with the male.

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adjective

1. of service; useful.

2. of, relating to, or used by servants, delivery people, etc., or in serving food.

   service stairs;

   the service pieces in a set of dishes.

3. supplying aids or services rather than products or goods.

   Medicine is one of the service professions.

4. supplying maintenance and repair.

   He operates a service center for electrical appliances.

5. of, for, or pertaining to the armed forces of a country or one of them.

   a service academy.

6. charged for providing service.

   a service fee of 15 percent on the restaurant check.

7. providing, authorizing, or guaranteeing service: a service contract.

   a service industry;

   a service contract.

verb (used with object)

services, present (3rd person singular) serviced, past participle, past servicing present participle

1. to make fit for use; repair; restore to condition for service.

   to service an automobile.

2. to supply with aid, information, or other incidental services.

3. (of a male animal) to mate with (a female animal).

4. Finance. to pay off (a debt) over a period of time, as by meeting periodic interest payments.

idioms

1. at someone's service, ready to be of help or use to someone; at one's disposal.

   You will have an English-speaking guide at your service.

2. be of service, to be helpful or useful.

   If we can be of service, do not hesitate to call.

service ² American  

[sur-vis] / ˈsɜr vɪs /

noun

1. a European or North American service tree, especially Sorbus domestica.

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Service ³ American  

[sur-vis] / ˈsɜr vɪs /

noun

1. Robert W(illiam), 1874–1958, Canadian writer, born in England.

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service ¹ British  

/ ˈsɜːvɪs /

noun

1. an act of help or assistance

2. an organized system of labour and material aids used to supply the needs of the public

   telephone service

   bus service

3. the supply, installation, or maintenance of goods carried out by a dealer

4. the state of availability for use by the public (esp in the phrases into or out of service )

5. a periodic overhaul made on a car, machine, etc

6. the act or manner of serving guests, customers, etc, in a shop, hotel, restaurant, etc

7. a department of public employment and its employees

   civil service

8. employment in or performance of work for another

   he has been in the service of our firm for ten years

9. the work of a public servant

10. 1. one of the branches of the armed forces

    2. ( as modifier )

       service life

11. the state, position, or duties of a domestic servant (esp in the phrase in service )

12. the act or manner of serving food

13. a complete set of dishes, cups, etc, for use at table

14. public worship carried out according to certain prescribed forms

    divine service

15. the prescribed form according to which a specific kind of religious ceremony is to be carried out

    the burial service

16. a unified collection of musical settings of the canticles and other liturgical items prescribed by the Book of Common Prayer as used in the Church of England

17. sport

    1. the act, manner, or right of serving a ball

    2. Often shortened to: serve.  the game in which a particular player serves

       he has lost his service

18. (in feudal law) the duty owed by a tenant to his lord

19. the serving of a writ, summons, etc, upon a person

20. nautical a length of tarred marline or small stuff used in serving

21. (of male animals) the act of mating

22. (modifier) of, relating to, or for the use of servants or employees

23. (modifier) serving the public rather than producing goods

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verb

1. to provide service or services

2. to make fit for use

3. to supply with assistance

4. to overhaul (a car, machine, etc)

5. (of a male animal) to mate with (a female)

6. to meet interest and capital payments on (debt)

Service ² British  

/ 'sɜːvɪs /

noun

1. Robert ( William ). 1874–1958, Canadian poet, born in England; noted for his ballad-like poems of gold-rush era Yukon, such as 'The Shooting of Dan McGrew'; his books include Songs of a Sourdough (1907)

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service ³ British  

/ ˈsɜːvɪs /

noun

1. See service tree

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service More Idioms  

1. see at someone's service; break someone's serve (service); lip service; of service to someone; press into service.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unserviced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• servicing
  present
• serviced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• service
  simple
• services
  simple
• have serviced
  perfect
• has serviced
  perfect
• am servicing
  progressive
• are servicing
  progressive
• is servicing
  progressive
• have been servicing
  perfect progressive
• has been servicing
  perfect progressive

Past

• serviced
  simple
• had serviced
  perfect
• was servicing
  progressive
• were servicing
  progressive
• had been servicing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will service
  simple
• will have serviced
  perfect
• will be servicing
  progressive
• will have been servicing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of service¹

First recorded before 1100; Middle English (noun), from Old French, from Latin servitium “servitude,” equivalent to serv(us) “slave” + -itium noun suffix ( see -ice); replacing Middle English servise, late Old English serfise “ceremony,” from Old French servise, variant of service

Origin of service²

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier serves, plural of obsolete serve “service tree”; Middle English; Old English syrfe, from unattested Vulgar Latin sorbea, derivative of Latin sorbus sorb ¹

Explanation

If you perform duties that help someone else, you're providing a service. If you make dinner for your neighbor's children while she's in the hospital, you're doing a good service. Service has many uses, all having to do with serving someone, or doing something for them. In a restaurant the waiter provides service, and if you do something nice for someone, you've done him a good service. If you're in someone's service that means you work for her. Service can also mean a verb meaning "to fix," like when the maintenance whiz services the photocopier, or the mechanic services your car. In church, a ceremony is also called a service.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

service Service services serviced servicing

That meant improving service speeds, making stores more welcoming, and punching up the menu for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

They might not all have been as reliable as Rivera, but their role was abundantly clear: They were there to record the final three outs—and were paid handsomely for the service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“We remain focused on delivering exceptional value and service to our contract and policyholders and their financial representatives,” the statement added.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

But Neil Gray, whose ministerial responsibilities include the fire service, said it had been unable to fulfil a "specific request" for water-bombing helicopters and that firefighters on the ground had the resources which were needed.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

There was no funeral, no service, no mention of Seth ever again.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

United Parcel Service raised its full-year outlook after second-quarter revenue rose 7.6% to $22.83 billion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

United Parcel Service UPS -1.60%decrease; down pointing triangle raised its full-year outlook after revenue climbed in the second quarter, as the company said its years-long restructuring efforts are bearing fruit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

While the waves will attract experienced surfers, the National Weather Service says the hurricane is bringing life-threatening surf and rip currents that make swimming hazardous.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026

Helen Walton, head of the Data and Analysis Service, said the data was "important" as it helped make sure inflation figures remained accurate and reflected the reality of what islanders spend money on.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

I turned to the group behind us, which had grown to include a uniformed Secret Service officer in a white shirt and a black tie.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The Times spoke with the heads of four of these nonprofits, all who said they feel like they’re flying blind and are contemplating cuts to services.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Several fires broke out in northern and central Portugal, with over 1,000 firefighters and other professionals fighting the flames, supported by around 20 planes and helicopters, civil protection services said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

The grants run on an annual basis, and once a contract is in place, organizations can begin submitting invoices to be reimbursed for services such as rental assistance and emergency shelter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

Prosecutor David Matthew previously told the court that Day's actions triggered an emergency services response which caused "serious disruption", including the closure of Westminster Bridge.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The Maggie Fox who had once turned away customers now ran ads in the back pages of Spiritual newspapers offering her services to anyone who paid a dollar.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Antonio Nusa and Andreas Schjelderup take turns playing on the left wing and have serviced Haaland well.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

High valuations and volatility are tolerable if funded by long-term equity capital — not borrowed money that must be serviced and repaid.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

The moral of the story, he says: “get your car serviced regularly.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026

These bots use LLMs to control a computer and could lead to many business functions now serviced by commercial software being replaced by agents operating on free, open-source alternatives.

From Barron's ● Mar. 13, 2026

Given our father’s characteristic air of superiority, I secretly expected him to live in a manor house surrounded by grounds and serviced by a liveried staff.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

These include propulsion components, guidance and navigation systems, landing technologies, in space servicing, assembly and manufacturing, and energy management systems.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026

Investors and analysts say Strategy can’t protect both its common and preferred shareholders while also servicing a $1.8 billion annual dividend obligation on its preferred stocks—a cash requirement that vastly outstrips its core software revenue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026

Any slowdown in capex deployment would have a severely detrimental impact on revenue and debt servicing for these borrowers.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026

The amount of money that households are spending on servicing debt has risen since its pandemic-era lows, but remains quite small, relative to history.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Harry was polishing his Firebolt, the broomstick servicing kit Hermione had given him for his thirteenth birthday open at his feet.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Related Words

• account
• assistance
• benefit
• business
• duty
• employment
• maintenance
• office
• supply
• use
• utility
• work