A self-service shop, restaurant, or garage is one where you get things for yourself rather than being served by another person.
self-service in British English
adjective
1.
of or denoting a shop, restaurant, petrol station, etc, where the customer serves himself or herself
noun
2.
the practice of serving oneself, as in a shop, etc
self-service in American English
(ˈsɛlfˈsɜrvɪs)
US
noun
1.
the practice of serving oneself from a display of articles in a store, cafeteria, etc. or servicing one's car oneself at a service station and then paying a cashier
adjective
2.
operating with such self-service
Examples of 'self-service' in a sentence
self-service
It boasts a huge lodge bar and self-service restaurant selling chips and sandwiches covered in gravy.
The Sun (2007)
Luck is linked to a self-service ticket machine.
The Sun (2012)
Yet something about the parallel world of self-service garages promotes the glazed stare.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
You are losing trade because of those crazy self-service checkouts you have.
The Sun (2015)
Europe is not a cash till and still less a self-service restaurant.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
And it has installed thousands of improved self-service betting machines in its stores without too many hitches.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Does the self-service checkout system cause books to disappear?
Christianity Today (2000)
Europe is not a cash till and less still a self-service restaurant.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
If self-service tills do become mainstream in the high street they are likely to come at the cost of jobs.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
IT would be a good idea for shoppers to receive a discount on their purchases for using self-service tills.
The Sun (2014)
The remainder will use one of the 96 self-service kiosks in the departure hall.
The Sun (2008)
There is an app for mobile phones and the stores have become more high-tech with self-service checkouts.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There's no getting round the price of the self-service restaurants on the mountains.
The Sun (2014)
He was spotted in a baseball cap using a self-service till to buy eggs at Waitrose.
The Sun (2016)
The system is to be installed in more than 330 stores at self-service and regular checkouts.
The Sun (2010)
Do away with self-service checkouts.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
My husband was confined to his cabin for two days, the self-service restaurants were closed and room service was cancelled.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
self-service
British English: self-service /ˈsɛlfˈsɜːvɪs/ ADJECTIVE
A self-service shop, restaurant, or garage is one where you get things for yourself rather than being served by another person.