# service

Pronunciation: say "SUR-vis" US /ˈsɝ.vɪs/, UK /ˈsɜː.vɪs/

## Noun

1. The practice of providing assistance to others as a form of economic activity.
   - Simple: The work of helping or assisting people, done as a business.
   - _Much of the modern economy depends on service rather than manufacturing._
   - _The firm built its reputation on reliable service to small clients._
2. Waiting on customers in a restaurant, hotel, or store, or the speed and quality with which staff do it.
   - Simple: The way a restaurant, hotel, or store looks after its customers, and how well and how fast it does it.
   - _A 20 percent tip seemed fair for such attentive service._
   - _Shoppers complained about poor service at the checkout after the store cut its staff._
3. An act of giving help or assistance to someone.
   - Simple: A helpful act you do for another person.
   - _Volunteering at the shelter is a service the whole town appreciates._
   - _By translating the forms for newly arrived families, she performed a genuine service for the whole community._
4. A formal religious ceremony or rite of worship.
   - Simple: A formal religious ceremony held for worship.
   - _The chapel holds a candlelit service every Christmas Eve._
   - _Mourners gathered for a quiet memorial service by the lake._
5. A bus, train, or ferry route operated on a regular timetable, or one of the scheduled journeys along it.
   - Simple: A bus, train, or boat that runs on the same route at set times, or one trip on it.
   - _The ferry service to the island runs only on weekends in winter._
   - _The 7:15 service to Chicago has been canceled because of a signal problem._
6. Provision of temporary access to a resource, such as a hotel room or streaming video, without transfer of its ownership.
   - Simple: The right to use something, like a hotel room or online video, without owning it.
   - _A subscription service grants members access to thousands of titles they never own._
   - _With a car-sharing app, you pay for a service, not a car: you drive it for an hour, then leave it for the next person._
7. One of the departments into which a company, institution, or other organization is divided.
   - Simple: A part of a company or group that handles one kind of work.
   - _The press service issued a statement on behalf of the minister._
   - _Complaints are handled by the consumer affairs service._
8. Active, working use of a machine, vehicle, ship, or system, which it enters when first put to work and leaves when withdrawn.
   - Simple: The use or working of a machine, vehicle, ship, or system, as when it starts or stops being used.
   - _The aircraft carrier remained in service for nearly fifty years before it was retired._
   - _The new payment system went into service at all branches on Monday._
9. Work or duty performed as a member of the military.
   - Simple: Time spent working as a member of the armed forces.
   - _Years of service in the army shaped his sense of discipline._
   - _He received a medal for distinguished service during the conflict._
10. The condition of being employed by or subordinate to a person or group.
   - Simple: The state of working for or under another person or group.
   - _For decades the butler remained in the service of one family._
   - _Knights pledged lifelong service to their lord._
11. A routine checkup of a vehicle or machine, including any upkeep needed to keep it running properly.
   - Simple: A regular check of a car or machine, when someone looks it over and fixes small things to keep it working well.
   - _The mechanic found a worn brake pad during the bike's annual service._
   - _Regular services every 10,000 miles kept the old truck running well._
13. A function that one program or machine provides for the use of another.
   - Simple: A task that one computer or program carries out for another.
   - _The app relies on a cloud service to store user data._
   - _Developers query the mapping service for location coordinates._
14. A commodity such as electricity, water, or sewerage supplied continuously through a physical infrastructure network.
   - Simple: Something like electricity or water that is supplied to homes through a network.
   - _Crews worked through the night to restore power service to the region._
   - _New homes must be connected to municipal water service before sale._
16. The armed forces of a country, considered as a single institution.
   - Simple: The armed forces of a country, taken as a whole.
   - _After college he entered the service and trained as a pilot._
   - _A career in the service took her to bases on three continents._
17. The stroke that puts the ball into play in tennis, volleyball, and other games.
   - Simple: The first hit that puts the ball into play in tennis and similar games.
   - _A powerful service can win the point outright._
   - _His second service was so slow that his opponent returned it with ease._
19. The formal delivery of a summons, writ, or other legal document to the party named in it.
   - Simple: The official act of giving someone legal papers, such as a court summons.
   - _Service of the writ was completed when the deputy handed it to the defendant._
   - _The lawsuit stalled for weeks because service on the overseas defendant proved difficult._
20. A matched set of dishes or utensils used for serving and eating a meal.
   - Simple: A matching set of plates, dishes, or utensils for serving meals.
   - _He inherited a porcelain tea service from his grandmother._
   - _The antique service included cups, saucers, and a delicate teapot._
24. A European tree related to the rowan, with clusters of white flowers and small fruit eaten when overripe; also this fruit.
   - Simple: A European tree like the rowan, or its small fruit, eaten when very ripe and soft.
   - _The service tree blossoms in spring and bears fruit in fall._
   - _Gardeners who grow a service tree usually wait until its small fruit turns soft and brown before eating it._
25. The spun yarn, small lines, and other material wound around a rope to protect it.
   - Simple: The yarn and small lines wrapped around a rope to protect it.

## Verb

12. To perform maintenance or repairs on a machine, vehicle, or system to keep it working properly.
   - Simple: To check and repair a machine so it keeps working well.
   - _Technicians service the elevators twice a year._
   - _The company serviced the entire fleet before the winter routes began._
15. To provide a person, group or area with what it needs, such as care, supplies or information.
   - Simple: To provide people or a place with what they need, as in 'the clinic services nearby villages'.
   - _The new clinic services the rural villages that once had no doctor._
   - _These rail lines service every town along the river._
18. To make repayments on a debt or pay the interest owed on it.
   - Simple: To pay back money you owe, or to pay the interest on it.
   - _The government struggles to service its enormous national debt._
   - _Households that service their debts on time protect their credit scores._
21. Of a male animal, to mate with a female so as to make her pregnant.
   - Simple: To breed with a female animal so that she becomes pregnant.
   - _Breeders bring in a prize bull to service the herd each spring._
   - _The boar serviced every sow on the farm within a week._
22. To attack or strike a target, especially in military operations.
   - Simple: To attack a target, especially with weapons.
   - _Commanders ordered the gun crews to service the bunker with sustained fire._
   - _The strike package serviced three targets before returning to base._
23. To perform a sexual act on someone, often to give them sexual gratification.
   - Simple: To perform a sexual act on someone, especially to please them.
   - _The escort was paid well to service wealthy clients._
   - _He crudely asked whether she would service him for money._

## Noun

26. An expression of respect and a formal acknowledgment of the duty one owes to another. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A show of respect and a sign of the duty owed to someone.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A musical setting of the fixed texts of a church service, such as the canticles or the Communion, especially in Anglican worship.
- (noun) A shared taxi carrying unrelated passengers who each pay part of the fare, often running a fixed route between cities.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–23, 25–26** — This word came through Middle English and Old French from Latin servitium, based on servus ("servant, serf, slave"), and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European form *ser-wo-s ("guardian"), possibly from *ser- ("watch over, protect"). It displaced the native Old English word þeġnung.
**Meaning 24** — From Middle English serves, plural of serve ('sorb apple'), from Old English syrfe, from Vulgar Latin *sorbea and Latin sorbus ('service tree'). The spelling was later bent toward the unrelated word service.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/service (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).