Service

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ˈsɜːvɪs/
• GenAm IPA: /ˈsɝvɪs/

From Old French servise (French: service).

Full definition of service

Noun

1. An act of being of assistance to someone.I say I did him a service by ending our relationship - now he can freely pursue his career.
• 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, Mr. Pratt's Patients Chapter 4, Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.
2. (economics) The practice of providing such a service as economic activity.
   Hair care is a service industry.
• 2013-06-21, Oliver Burkeman, The tao of tech, The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about …, or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",...and so on. But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention.
3. (computing) A function that is provided by one program or machine for another.
   This machine provides the name service for the LAN.
4. The state of being subordinate to or employed by an individual or group
   Lancelot was at the service of King Arthur.
5. The military.
   I did three years in the service before coming here.
6. A set of dishes or utensils.
   She brought out the silver tea service.
7. (sports) The act of initially starting, or serving, the ball in play in tennis, volleyball, and other games.
   The player had four service faults in the set.
8. A religious rite or ritual.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 5, Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands.
9. The funeral service was touching.
10. (legal) The serving, or delivery, of a summons or writ.
• 1668 July 3, James Dalrymple, 1st Viscount of Stair, “Thomas Rue contra Andrew HouÅ¿toun” in The DeciÅ¿ions of the Lords of Council & SeÅ¿Å¿ion I (Edinburgh, 1683), page 548:He SuÅ¿pends on theÅ¿e ReaÅ¿ons, that Thomas Rue had granted a general DiÅ¿charge to Adam MuÅ¿het, who was his Conjunct, and correus debendi, after the alleadged Service, which DiÅ¿charged MuÅ¿het, and conÅ¿equently Houstoun his Partner.
11. The service happened yesterday.
12. (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, West Bank) A taxi shared among unrelated passengers, each of whom pays part of the fare; often, it has a fixed route between cities.
13. A musical composition for use in churches.
14. (obsolete) Profession of respect; acknowledgment of duty owed.
• ShakespearePray, do my service to his majesty.
15. (nautical) The materials used for serving a rope, etc., such as spun yarn and small lines.

Usage notes

In British English, the indefinite article “a” is often used with “good service”, as in “A good service is operating on all London Underground lines,” while this is not used in American English.

Antonyms

• (action or work that is produced and consumed) good
• capital

Derived terms

Verb

1. (transitive) To serve.They service the customer base.
2. (transitive) To perform maintenance.He is going to service the car.
3. (transitive, agriculture, euphemistic) To inseminate through sexual intercourse
4. (transitive, vulgar) To perform a sexual act.He was going to service her.

Descendants

• Japanese: サービス
• Korean: 서비스

Noun

1. service tree----