Meaning & use
servant
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A person who is paid to do household work or personal tasks for another, such as cooking, cleaning or driving.
Grammar: Usually historical or in stories: the servants of a grand house.
Patterns
- a servant of someone
- employ a servant
The family employed three servants in their country house.
The old servant brought tea to the library every afternoon.
In the film, the servants hurry to prepare the banquet.
nouncountable
A person who works for the public or an institution, as in the phrase public servant.
Grammar: Often in compounds: civil servant, public servant.
Patterns
- a servant of something
- civil servant
As a civil servant, she helps manage the city's budget.
Police officers and nurses are public servants.
He saw himself as a servant of the community.
nouncountableformal
A person who is devoted to a cause, idea or other person and puts it before themselves.
Grammar: Used in a humble or religious way: a servant of God, a servant of the truth.
Patterns
- a servant of something
The nurse was a faithful servant of her patients.
Priests often call themselves servants of the faith.
The judge described himself as a servant of the law.
Word forms
| plural | servants |
|---|
Common combinations
- civil servant
- My aunt is a civil servant in the tax office.
- public servant
- Public servants must follow strict ethics rules.
- loyal servant
- He was a loyal servant of the royal family for forty years.
- household servant
- A household servant once lived in the attic room.
- humble servant
- I remain, sir, your humble servant.
- servant of the people
- The mayor called herself a servant of the people.
Synonyms and how they differ
- domestic
- Domestic is a more formal term for a household worker, and it sounds less lowly than servant.
- attendant
- Attendant describes a person who helps in a particular place, such as a flight attendant, not necessarily in a home.
- maid
- Maid is specifically a female household worker, while servant can be male or female.
- retainer
- Retainer is an older word for a loyal long-time follower of a noble family.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: servant or servitor? servant or slave?
servant vs servitor
Servitor is an old word for a male attendant, now rare.
servant vs slave
A servant is paid and can leave, while a slave is owned and has no freedom.
Practice
A person who works for the government and helps run public services is called a ___ servant.
Choose one answer.
Civil servant is the fixed phrase for a government worker. The other adjectives do not form a standard expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “servant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.