public service

noun

1

: the business of supplying a commodity (such as electricity or gas) or service (such as transportation) to any or all members of a community

2

: a service rendered in the public interest

3

: governmental employment

especially : civil service

Examples of public service in a Sentence

The cost of public services is on the rise.

The station is running antismoking commercials as a public service.

The company is heavily involved in public service.

He works in public service.

She has devoted her life to public service.

Recent Examples on the Web

Now the Federal Bureau of Investigations has issued a public service announcement warning of how generative AI is being used to facilitate such fraud and advising smartphone users to hang up and create a secret word to help mitigate these cyber attacks. —Davey Winder, Forbes, 7 Dec. 2024

The House approved the bill — which would do away with rules backers say have led to unfair reductions in benefits for some who have worked in public service — by a wide margin earlier this month. —Aris Folley, The Hill, 1 Dec. 2024

For Lebanon, the agreement presents the opportunity for respite after more than a year of violence, which as well as the death and displacement has also devastated public services and infrastructure. —Alexander Smith, NBC News, 27 Nov. 2024

Every dollar spent repaying sovereign debt is a dollar that could have been spent on public services—building roads, fixing schools, climate-proofing infrastructure, paying doctors and civil servants. —Martín Abregú, Foreign Affairs, 27 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

public service

noun

1

: the business of supplying a commodity (as electricity or gas) or service (as transportation) to any or all members of a community

2

: governmental employment

especially : civil service