public service

noun

Definition

› [C usually plural] a service provided by the government, such as hospitals, schools, or the police: The prime minister wants to stop Italy's huge public debt growing, and to make its public services more efficient. › [U] the government and the work that its departments do: The Senator has worked in public service all his life. [before noun] Inner-city teaching has become a popular public-service job for new graduates. › [C] something that is done or provided for the public because it is needed, and not in order to make a profit: [before noun] The star has recorded public-service announcements for local TV on subjects including HIV and teen pregnancy.

(Definition of public service noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)