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

Cap bearing the badge of the Indian Police Service, the highest-trained level of police officers who must pass the Indian civil service exam.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

State Department officials say the administration’s cuts to the civil service haven’t affected their ability to respond.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026

Carter’s administration instituted the most sweeping reforms of the civil service since 1883’s Pendleton Act, which replaced the spoils system and created a professional, merit-based system.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

Hazel Cranstoun, from Arran in Scotland, worked for the Cabinet Office and left the civil service in 2011 to care for her mum.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 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