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Glite Dictionary
service area

service area

3 2.7
A place on a highway where travelers stop for fuel, food, and toilets
  • noun
  • /ˈsɜrvɪs ˈɛəriə/
  • UK
translation icon : área de servicio
  • "Midwest Telephone technicians are scrambling to deal with a major telecommunications outage affecting the company's entire service area."
  • specified service area
  • specific service area
  • define the service area

Examples

  • Most distance education programs are only available within a local or regional service area.

    Academic text (2005)

  • We decided to stop at the service area for a quick break during our road trip.

  • Let me show you the service area now.

    Solitary Man (2009)

  • The typical community college identified its specific service area as a set of counties or cities.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Jerry wanders through the service area where cars are being worked on.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The facts suggest that the city is out of Freeland's service area.

    Academic text (1997)

  • There's an all-night car wash by the airport service area.

    Crash (1996)

  • There's an all-night car wash in the airport service area.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The rural community included six counties designated as medically underserved and a service area covering more than 7,200 square miles.

    Academic text (2013)

  • We defined the walkable service area by a 15-minute walk (1.6 km) street network buffer.

    Academic text (2013)

Synonyms

truck stop
vsservice area
  • US
34 2.7

A place by the road where truck drivers stop for fuel, food, and rest

caters to all travelers and adds general services beyond heavy vehicle focus
rest stop
vsservice area
  • US
24 1.8

A place beside a road where people stop to rest, use toilets, or buy food

offers additional services such as fuel and varied facilities for travelers
rest area
vsservice area
  • US
7 1.6

A place beside a highway where drivers stop to rest and use toilets

includes more commercial services and places to buy food or fuel
pull-in
vsservice area
  • UK
6.5

A roadside place like a cafe where drivers stop to rest and eat

focuses on wider facilities and fuel availability for all highway users

How Equipped

service area
  • UK
3 2.7
gasoline station
  • US
3 1.2
rest area
  • US
7 1.6

Surface Forms

service area singular
service areas plural

Morphology

service + area

The meaning 'a place on a highway providing fuel, food, restrooms, and other services' is directly and compositionally derived from 'service' (amenities/help) + 'area' (a region or place). This noun+noun compound follows a common, cross-linguistic pattern and should be predictable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent words.

Etymology

Service area: The name service area comes from the idea of an area beside the road that gives many services to drivers, like fuel, food and toilets. So it now means 'a place on a highway to stop for fuel, food, and rest'.