service

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Work done by one person or organization that helps or benefits others.

   The town budgets separately for goods and services.

2. 2
   noun

   The way customers are helped and treated by staff, for example in a restaurant or shop.

   That restaurant has excellent food and friendly service.

3. 3
   noun

   Time spent working for an organization or country.

   I retired from the post office after 30 years of service.

4. 4
   noun

   A religious ceremony of public worship.

   They attend the Sunday service at the local church.

5. 5
   verb

   To check and repair a machine or vehicle to keep it working well.

   I need to service my truck before the long trip.

Common collocations

• excellent service Adjective + noun
• poor service Adjective + noun
• public service Adjective + noun
• offer a service Verb + noun
• provide a service Verb + noun
• use a service Verb + noun
• essential service Adjective + noun
• deliver a service Verb + noun

From Middle English servise, from Old English serfis, from Old French servise (French service), from the verb servir, from Latin servitium (compare Portuguese serviço, Italian servizio, Norman sèrvice, Spanish servicio), from servus (“servant; serf; slave”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ser-wo-s (“guardian”), possibly from *ser- (“watch over, protect”). Displaced native Old English þeġnung.

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