ˌpublic ˈservice noun

1. [countable usually plural] a service, such as transport or health care, that a government provides:
efforts to improve quality in public services

2. [uncountable and countable] a service provided to people because it will help them, and not for profit:
Local TV stations ran the ads as a public service.

3. [singular, uncountable] the government or its departments:
staff cuts in the public service
He left the public service and embarked on a career in the City.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲