public servant

noun

: a government official or employee

Examples of public servant in a Sentence

the new governor vowed that he would always remember why he was called a public servant and not the people's master concerned that the new federal agency would just add another slew of public servants to the government payroll
Recent Examples on the Web Wayne and Macomb county governments also require public servants file disclosures. Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press, 17 Mar. 2024 There are caring public servants unable to overcome the pettiness and illogic of the system. Dan Barry, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Other incentives include free daycare, subsidized pay during childcare leave, and even group blind dates for public servants to try and matchmake couples. TIME, 1 Mar. 2024 Independence Mayor Rory Rowland said the city is grieving the loss of two public servants. Bill Lukitsch, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Underlining the joy of the day was exhaustion from the long and trying journey that led up to it, a saga of desperate relatives navigating a mental health system bedeviled by roadblocks and inconsistencies and, at key moments, brightened by dedicated public servants. Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Stapleton is a longtime public servant who worked in the city's youth and recreation departments in the 1990s during the administration of former Mayor Dennis Archer. Detroit Free Press, 29 Feb. 2024 Like two boys pushing another boy into the restroom before gunshots ring out from inside. To be a public servant in America is to contend with a fair amount of trauma. Lisa Bubert, Longreads, 27 Feb. 2024 Afterward, a long line of admirers gathered for pictures, treating him more like a celebrity than a public servant. Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'public servant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of public servant was in 1671

Dictionary Entries Near public servant

Cite this Entry

“Public servant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/public%20servant. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

public servant

noun
: a governmental official or employee
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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