self-service

Also self-serve

[self-sur-vis]

noun

1. the system of serving oneself in a restaurant, shop, gas station, or other facility, without the aid of a waiter, clerk, attendant, etc.

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a cafeteria, store, etc., designed for the patron or customer to gather food or merchandise from a display counter or shelves without the aid of attendants and pay at a cashier's desk upon leaving.

2. of, for, or pertaining to something designed to be used or enjoyed without the aid of an attendant.

   self-service banking; self-service elevators.

self-service

adjective

1. of or denoting a shop, restaurant, petrol station, etc, where the customer serves himself

noun

1. the practice of serving oneself, as in a shop, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-service¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

His efforts have included remodelling stores to revamp seating and bringing back self-service condiment bars.

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Berlin Brandenburg Airport is asking travellers to use online or self-service check-in instead of the desks while the outage is ongoing.

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It follows a similar move by Sainsbury's, which has rolled out AI recognition technology at self-service checkouts at some of its stores.

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Upon arrival there, I tried once again to check myself in, this time at a self-service booth.

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Such advancements were made to the McDonald’s mobile app along with its self-service kiosks, which received a handful of complaints from customers online.

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