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• foreign service
  foreign service

  noun

  a division of the U.S. Department of State or of a foreign office that maintains diplomatic and consular posts and personnel in other countries.
• Foreign Service
  Foreign Service

  The professional arm of the executive branch that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world. Ambassadors, though officially members of the Foreign Service, are sometimes friends of the president of the United States appointed in gratitude for support given during elections.

foreign service

American  

noun

(often initial capital letters)

1. a division of the U.S. Department of State or of a foreign office that maintains diplomatic and consular posts and personnel in other countries.

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foreign service British  

noun

1. the diplomatic and usually consular personnel of a foreign affairs ministry or foreign office collectively who represent their country abroad, deal with foreign diplomats at home, etc

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Foreign Service Cultural  

1. The professional arm of the executive branch that supplies diplomats for the United States embassies and consulates around the world. Ambassadors, though officially members of the Foreign Service, are sometimes friends of the president of the United States appointed in gratitude for support given during elections.

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Etymology

Origin of foreign service

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

foreign service Foreign Service

If negotiations were to resume, it’s unclear whether Trump and his coterie of negotiators have the stamina or the foreign service expertise to bring about an accord.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026

After graduation, he opted for Wall Street rather than the foreign service, journalism, or computer science.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

At one point in February, Marocco tried ordering the immediate return of foreign service officers stationed abroad.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025

Once in a great while, a diplomatic memorandum—the outline of a proposed change in policy sent from a foreign service officer to his political masters back in Washington—has momentous impact.

From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2024

Even while on foreign service he had amused himself with studying the digestive faculties of snakes and lizards when in a torpid state, and many were the contributions he sent home to his brother’s museum.

From The Doctor in History, Literature, Folk-Lore, Etc. by Various

She and her husband, Paul Pelosi — a Georgetown alumnus — established the Paul F. Pelosi Scholars Initiative at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2018, which supports students pursuing public service careers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

Gracias attended the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service before getting a law degree from the University of Chicago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

The goal of those fellowships has been to help students from underrepresented groups get a chance at entering the Foreign Service soon after graduation.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2025

If confirmed, Stefanik would replace UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a career diplomat who worked for the US Foreign Service for 35 years.

From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2024

Nine months later, back home, I took the Foreign Service exam and, a year after that, started working for the State Department.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides