civil service

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.

civil service

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

civil service

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of civil service¹

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

Critics, including labor unions and civil service advocates, have called the firings unlawful and politically driven.

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Though he had been in the civil service for more than two years, a recent promotion designated him as a probationary worker—a category of staff among the first targeted for layoffs.

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At the conference, her party has pledged to save £47bn a year from cuts to welfare, the civil service and foreign aid, if it gets back into government.

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They want to shrink the state by around £50bn by cutting benefits, cutting foreign aid and cutting the civil service.

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Shockingly, it also found that the government, civil service and NHS, over decades tried to cover up and deny this.

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Related Words

• administration 
• authority 
• management 
• ministry 
• red tape