civil service

American  

noun

1. those branches of public service concerned with all governmental administrative functions outside the armed services.

2. the body of persons employed in these branches.

3. a system or method of appointing government employees on the basis of competitive examinations, rather than by political patronage.

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civil service British  

noun

1. the service responsible for the public administration of the government of a country. It excludes the legislative, judicial, and military branches. Members of the civil service have no official political allegiance and are not generally affected by changes of governments

2. the members of the civil service collectively

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civil service Cultural  

1. The nonmilitary personnel who work for a government, applying its laws and regulations.

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Etymology

Origin of civil service

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

County employees are allowed to appeal disciplinary measures and decisions of being fired to the Civil Service Commission.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Ipsa also compared MPs' salaries to public sector roles such as senior managers in the Civil Service, who have an average annual salary of £88,049 and NHS consultants, whose starting salaries are £106,242.

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

Handling Joslin’s case are attorneys from the Civil Service Law Center, a firm formed by former Justice Department litigators, and the nonprofit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

As a career civil servant, some questioned whether he was the best person to reform the Civil Service.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2026

Melvin Butler leaned on the US Civil Service Commission and the War Manpower Commission as hard as he could so that the laboratory might get top priority on the limited pool of qualified applicants.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• administration
• authority
• management
• ministry
• red tape