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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

From next year, people who attempt to climb Mount Fuji during off-peak seasons and then require rescue by helicopter will have to pay for the service, authorities governing the northern part of the peak say.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

The increase was driven by building materials and supplies, led by metal service centers on the back of higher steel products prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

He said the service should instead replace broken gear with new parts and “address the root cause of those failures” and that this system should not be standard practice.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

The companies contracting to do the review process receive payments when they reduce costs, which critics have said incentivizes them to deny service.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

There was a big thanksgiving service in the church, and at the end of it, Sancho was given the keys to the town in a most ridiculous ceremony.

From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios

North West Ambulance Service later began investigating potential inappropriate access to patient records by some of its staff.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

The man was airlifted to a nearby hospital for treatment, the Forest Service said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Ballot envelopes would also have to meet new design standards, including unique barcodes that have to be checked by the Postal Service.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026

Alito wrote an eight-page dissent, arguing that the Postal Service has “broad power to regulate the delivery of mail.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Internal Revenue Service is able to collect Bobby’s back taxes and fines, the multimillion-dollar “purse” the competitors are vying for will have been seriously reduced.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

The company’s ride-hailing service is racing against rivals like Alphabet’s Waymo and Amazon.com’s Zoox to develop driverless taxi services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

Data centres are giant warehouses full of powerful computers used to run digital services, such as movie streaming, online banking and artificial intelligence.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

That figure is up 7.5% from a year ago amid rising prices for care, greater use of healthcare services as the population ages, and growing costs tied to managing chronic conditions.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

The rail network services Los Angeles, Orange and four other counties in Southern California, with an operating budget of more than $350 million.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

The entire Zanmi Lasante annual budget for all of its services was $1.5 million, half of that in the form of donated drugs.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Regulators received nearly 500 complaints of engine failures in vehicles already serviced under an earlier recall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

We have all been there: You’re getting your car serviced, and the mechanic or agent says you need an expensive repair.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

At the lots, the company’s 56 cars recharge and are cleaned and serviced by contractors.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

He insisted that the engine on the 18-year-old Boeing 737 plane had been fully serviced and overhauled in the past two years.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

They were mechanics who serviced different parts of the same machine.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Woking Borough Council leader Ann-Marie Barker said the financial support would help lessen the costs associated with servicing and reducing the council's debt.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

These maneuvers are intended to test technologies that could eventually be used for in-space satellite servicing, including future missions in which one spacecraft approaches and works near another.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026

Nuclear reactors sold overseas create decadeslong commercial ties because of refueling and servicing agreements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

"The team moved with extraordinary speed to give Swift a chance to carry out more science while advancing capabilities America will need for satellite servicing in the future," Isaacman added.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 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