service industry

British

noun

an industry that provides services, such as transport or entertainment, rather than goods

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

service industry Cultural

An industry that produces services rather than goods. Examples include transportation, banking, retail trade, and entertainment.

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.

A woman in a service industry, an immigrant to America from Eastern Europe who’s been here about 20 years, took me aside recently.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

Hungary's film service industry also gives breakout opportunities to talented artists, such as set decorator Zsuzsanna Sipos.

From Barron's • Nov. 30, 2025

Ask ChatGPT whether AI will replace humans in the customer service industry, and it will offer a diplomatic answer, the summary of which is "they will work side by side".

From BBC • Nov. 2, 2025

She decided to go into the homeless service industry when her work as a TV producer dried up.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2025

Hong Kong's service industry over the past decade has grown rapidly as its manufacturing industry has moved to the mainland.

From The 2007 CIA World Factbook by United States. Central Intelligence Agency

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023