public service
34
2.2
- noun
- /ˈpʌblɪk ˈsɜrvɪs/
:
servicio público
- Many people are advocating for better public services to ensure everyone can receive necessary support.
- public service announcement
- public services and education
- public services in health
They've led to stagnation, decline, undermining of public services, inability.
- They've led to stagnation, decline, undermining of public services, inability.
- It's part of our public service remit to entertain and educate.
- Our lives were greyer and more pinched and our public services worse.
- Police and fire and EMS are public service.
- From now on, diversity is the default in our public services.
- Well, unfortunately, it does mean some public services are probably going to begin suffering.
- There's this whole lack and loss of a kind of a faith in public service.
- I want to build public services up again so that people who need to access them can do that.
Examples
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The city government invested in public services like schools and hospitals to improve community welfare.
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Some advocates still argue that local government should be a vehicle for civic participation, robust public services, and an egalitarian polity.
Academic text (2017) -
How then do you fund public services as a result of that?
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I want to build public services up again so that people who need to access them can do that.
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Well, unfortunately, it does mean some public services are probably going to begin suffering.
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Education in the United States is a public creation, a public mandate, and a public service.
Academic text (1997) -
We must continue the legacy of Greek society that believed public service was an expected, honorable duty.
Academic text (1991) -
Minister, the breakdown in essential public services, in transport, in electricity, in sanitation, is not the fault of the trade unions.
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Nationwide, budget cuts have axed 627,000 public service jobs just since June 2009.
Blog text (11) -
Furthers the beneficial work of the nonprofit sector and provides more opportunities for interns interested in public service.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
217
3.3
A service that supplies water, gas, or electricity to homes
8
3.2
An organization that provides essential services like water or electricity and is regulated by the government
4
1.0
Help or facilities an organization provides for people
How Essential
- Formal
4
3.0
34
2.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'public' (open/for everyone) with 'service' (a provision or organization that helps people); a learner who knows both words will readily infer it refers to government or community-provided services. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English noun-noun/adj+noun formation, so it is immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.
Etymology
The term public service can also mean a service offered to everyone, like buses, schools, or clean water, from the idea of public (for all) and service (something that helps). Because these things 'serve' the community, the phrase now means services provided for everyone, often by the government.