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

The immediate cause of the anger is a preliminary civil service examination held in April.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The 27-year-old, from a farming family from Bokaro, has spent years preparing for Jharkhand's civil service examination, hoping it would get her the security of a government job.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 18, 2026

Does it extend to the civil service as a whole?

From Slate ● Jul. 6, 2026

“Did we not put that old book he used to read for the civil service exam inside?”

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• administration
• authority
• management
• ministry
• red tape