Security Service
3
3.5
- proper noun
- UK
:
Servicio de Seguridad
- The actual protection of the dignitary will be provided by either the Secret Service or the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS).
- Diplomatic Security Service
Examples
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In November 2006, Eliza Manningham-Buller, the director general of the British Security Service, known as MI5, said that some 200 networks of Muslims of South Asian descent were being monitored in the United Kingdom.
Academic text (2007) -
For two weeks, I have been doing research for an article on big New York stores, and believe me, this is the first time I have met a security service worthy of the name.
Fiction book (1992) -
The men from the security service are here.
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And I, as Director General of the Security Service... Acting Director General.
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Security services such as the Secret Service and the Diplomatic Security Service will evaluate the "threat level" for any given situation and make security plans accordingly.
Academic text (2007) -
The security service states the arrests are a result of a 6-month-long anti-terror investigation.
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After Aristide's election as president of Haiti, she took a clerical job with the Presidential Security Service, Haiti's version of the U.S. Secret Service.
Academic text (1993) -
The security service works diligently to protect the country from potential threats.
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Members of the security service gathered intelligence to prevent a possible attack.
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The security service was involved in monitoring suspicious activities during the event.
Synonyms
A part of the British government that protects the country from spies and other internal threats
How Secret
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'security' (protection) + 'service' (an organization providing a function), so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer it denotes an organization that provides/protects security. The fact that, in UK usage, the capitalized form refers specifically to the government agency MI5 is cultural/world knowledge beyond the literal composition and not required to recover the basic meaning.
Etymology
Security Service is the name given to the UK agency that looks after safety inside the country. The word security means protection and service means a government department that works for the public, so the name came to mean an agency that watches for spies and other dangers at home, today called 'MI5'.