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say it: SUR-vuhs
service is a noun and verb meaning "work done by one person or group that benefits another". It carries 18 recorded senses.
work done by one person or group that benefits another
“budget separately for goods and services”
the act of public worship following prescribed rules
“the Sunday service”
a force that is a branch of the armed forces
military
Canadian writer (born in England) who wrote about life in the Yukon Territory (1874-1958)
tableware consisting of a complete set of articles (silver or dishware) for use at table
(law) the acts performed by an English feudal tenant for the benefit of his lord which formed the consideration for the property granted to him
case law
(sports) a stroke that puts the ball in play
“his powerful serves won the game”
tennis · badminton · squash
the act of delivering a writ or summons upon someone
“he accepted service of the subpoena”
periodic maintenance on a car or machine
“it was time for an overhaul on the tractor”
the performance of duties by a waiter or servant
“that restaurant has excellent service”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for service come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.