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

See Examples For:

civil service

Department of Agriculture’s civilian workforce, according to the independent federal agency tasked with managing the civil service.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

Sir Olly, who was appointed to the Foreign Office job in early 2025, has held a clutch of senior civil service roles and was previously the government's lead official during Brexit negotiations with the EU.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Anthony Littler, a quiet man of simple routines, was 6ft 4ins, worked in the civil service and lived in a flat in East Finchley, north London.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Charles Dickens’s “Little Dorrit” mocked the civil service with the fictional Circumlocution Office, which was dedicated to the science of “how not to do it.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

We know they’re the ones who will get jobs in the civil service and help the people who run the world.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

Related Words

• administration
• authority
• management
• ministry
• red tape