Meanings
nouncivil service (plural civil services)
plural civil services
- In parliamentary forms of government, the branches of government that are not military, legislative, or judicial, but work to apply its laws and regulations.
- The body of civilian employees of any level of government, not subject to political appointment and removal, normally hired and promoted largely on the basis of competitive examination.
I want to thank the brilliant No 10 staff and our country's extraordinary civil service, who dedicate their lives to public service.
2026 June 22, Keir Starmer, resignation speech
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 行政部門 /行政部门, 公務員 /公务员
- 行政部門 /行政部门 (xíngzhèng bùmén)branches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- 公務員 /公务员 (gōngwùyuán)body of civilian employees
Dutch ambtenarij, rijksdienst
- ambtenarijbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- rijksdienstbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- ambtenarenapparaatbody of civilian employees
- ambtenarijbody of civilian employees
Finnish julkinen sektori, julkinen sektori
- julkinen sektoribranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- julkinen sektoribody of civilian employees
French services publics, fonction publique
- services publicsbody of civilian employees
- fonction publiquebody of civilian employees
German öffentlicher Dienst, Staatsdienst
- öffentlicher Dienstbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- Staatsdienstbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- öffentlicher Dienstbody of civilian employees
Hungarian közszolgálat, közszolgálat
- közszolgálatbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- közszolgálatbody of civilian employees
Indonesian aparatur sipil negara
- aparatur sipil negarabody of civilian employees
Malay perkhidmatan awam
- perkhidmatan awambody of civilian employees
Polish służba cywilna, służba cywilna
- służba cywilnabranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- służba cywilnabody of civilian employees
Portuguese função pública, função pública
- função públicabranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- função públicabody of civilian employees
- serviço públicobody of civilian employees
Russian государственная служба
- государственная служба (gosudarstvennaja služba)branches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
Spanish función pública, servicio civil
- función públicabranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- servicio civilbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- servicio civilbody of civilian employees
Swedish offentlig sektor
- offentlig sektorbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
Tagalog serbisyo sibil, lingkurang-bayan
- serbisyo sibilbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- lingkurang-bayanbranches of government that are not military, legislative or judicial
- serbisyo sibilbody of civilian employees
Cite this entry
APA
civil service. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20service
MLA
“civil service.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20service. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “civil service,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/civil%20service.
Source: civil service on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.