public service

noun

"public-service" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“public service” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A service performed for the public good.

Key facts for public service
PropertyValue
Headwordpublic service
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “public service” sits in English frequency

public service falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

public service is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.

public service has no tracked misspelling variants, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is public service, spelled P-U-B-L-I-C- -S-E-R-V-I-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A service performed for the public good.
  2. 2
    A service such as health care, transport, or waste removal provided to the general public, often by the government.
  3. 3
    The organisation, department or business providing such a service.
  4. 4
    Government employment, especially in the civil service.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "public service"?
"public service" is spelled P-U-B-L-I-C- -S-E-R-V-I-C-E.
What does "public service" mean?
As a noun, "public service" means: A service performed for the public good.
What language does "public service" come from?
"public service" is a English word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “public service”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-U-B-L-I-C- -S-E-R-V-I-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list