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intelligence service

intelligence service

33 3.0
A group that gathers and studies secret information for a government
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈtɛlɪdʒəns ˈsɜrvɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : servicio de inteligencia
  • The intelligence service gathers data on potential threats to national security.
  • military intelligence service
  • foreign intelligence service
  • police and intelligence services

And thirdly, are you working with any intelligence service other than the than the CIA?

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Examples

  • Countries in the "high GDP/high military" group have historically allowed the armed forces and intelligence services to play crucial roles in politics and society.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The method was always the same yet neither the police, nor the intelligence service connected the dots.

  • So all these other governments and intelligence services, friendly or not, suddenly knew something we were doing.

  • Intelligence services continue to block attempts to clear up the case.

  • The United States must do more than transform its armed forces and repair its broken intelligence services.

    Academic text (2004)
  • In recent years, police and intelligence services have become increasingly aware of the threat of homegrown terrorism.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Some 65 percent of Americans polled believe that reforming the intelligence services is the best way to significantly strengthen U.S. security.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Undoubtedly, transactional relationships between local and federal intelligence services can facilitate efficiency and elicit community cooperation.

    Academic text (2017)
  • Jaabri was also the main interlocutor of the Egyptian intelligence service in reaching ceasefire understandings.

    Blog text (5)
  • In 1996, the Pasdaran, Iran's intelligence service, helped to blow up the Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing 19 Americans.

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

intelligence
vsintelligence service
  • Specialized
346 3.0

Government or army team that collects and studies secret information

is broader, covering threats beyond just enemy actions
intelligence agency
vsintelligence service
  • Specialized
64 2.8

A group that collects and studies secret information about other countries and threats

is not limited to foreign targets and covers domestic or varied threats

How Powerful

intelligence agency
  • Specialized
64 2.8
intelligence service
  • Specialized
33 3.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

intelligence + service

The meaning 'an organization that collects and analyzes secret information' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'intelligence' (secret information) with 'service' (an organization providing a public function). This institutional noun–noun composition is cross‑linguistically common and follows standard word-combination logic, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Intelligence service comes from the simple idea of a group that finds and gives important intelligence ('information') as a service ('help') to the government. Imagine quiet teams collecting facts and warning leaders about danger, so today it means an organisation that gathers and checks secret information to protect a country.