Synonyms for service
Synonyms by meaning
Noun
1. Work
work, avail, good offices, help, use, benefit, good turn, kindness, advantage, profit, blessing, turn, favor US, favour UK
2. Office
office, ceremony, religious service, divine service, ritual, sacrament, rite
Other
utility, business, function, serving, military service, duty, agency, employment, ministry, labor US, labour UK, attendance, overhaul
Definitions
- n. 1
An act of being of assistance to someone.
I say I did him a service by ending our relationship – now he can freely pursue his career.
- n. 2
The state of being subordinate to or employed by an individual or group.
Lancelot was at the service of King Arthur.
Forms
- Plural
- services → works, avails, helps, uses…
Choose the right word
Any religious act, especially a public act, viewed as a means of serving God is called a service; the word commonly includes the entire series of exercises of a single occasion of public worship. A religious service ordained as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace is called a sacrament.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- business You have no business complaining about the matter.
- agency Tom works for the Environmental Protection Agency.
- duty You must do your duty, whether you like it or not.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| service | falling | |
| business | steady | |
| agency | falling |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 3 letters
- use1
- 4 letters
- work1, help1, turn1, duty2, rite1
- 5 letters
- labor2, favor2, avail2
- 6 letters
- office2, agency3, profit2, labour2, favour2, ritual3
- 7 letters
- benefit3, serving2, utility4
- 8 letters
- business2, function2, ministry3, ceremony4, blessing2, kindness2, overhaul3
- 9 letters
- advantage3, sacrament3
- 10 letters
- employment3, attendance3
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (duty2 = 2 syllables).