servant
Americannoun
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a person employed by another, especially to perform domestic duties.
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a person in the service of another.
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a person employed by the government.
a public servant.
noun
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a person employed to work for another, esp one who performs household duties
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See public servant
Other Word Forms
- servant-like adjective
- servantless adjective
- servantlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of servant
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French, noun use of present participle of servir to serve; see -ant
Explanation
A servant works at someone’s home, often doing lowly tasks. You might feel like a servant when your mom insists that you do the dishes before you can do anything fun, but think how she feels cooking dinner every day! If you’re a servant, you serve someone else. In that 1930s mystery novel, chances are the rich family had servants to set the table and do the laundry. Nowadays, calling someone who does those things a servant has an insulting connotation. If you think your hard work gets no respect, you might feel like a servant. But people who work for the government like to be called "public servants," because they serve the good of public and not themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing servant
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, Sir Olly Robbins, who was the senior civil servant in the Foreign Office until he was sacked by the PM, told the Foreign Affairs Committee last week that there was "constant pressure".
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Cat Little, the most senior civil servant at the Cabinet Office, has been giving evidence to the Commons foreign affairs committee about the vetting of Lord Mandelson.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
It comes after former senior Foreign Office civil servant Sir Olly Robbins accused No 10 of a "dismissive" attitude towards the process - a claim Downing Street has denied.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry has said the Foreign Office's Chief Property and Security Officer Ian Collard and former Foreign Office top civil servant Sir Philip Barton have also been asked to give evidence.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
By now I’d figured out that I was in the hat brim of a servant.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
