selective service

noun

: a system under which men are called up for military service : draft

Examples of selective service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Norway and Finland are among the few countries with selective service systems that draft women as well as men, though Denmark recently joined them. Joshua Keating, Vox, 18 June 2024 Later that year, Republican Richard Nixon won the White House, further escalated the U.S. involvement in Vietnam and started the selective service draft. Nik Popli, TIME, 9 May 2024 Security is not a public good but, rather, a selective service. Bilal Y. Saab, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2015 The last meeting of the SBC occurred in 2019, and there was both a resolution on women not being included in the selective service, which would determine who would be eligible for a military draft in the U.S., and one against the teaching of critical race theory. Ryan Burge, The Conversation, 11 June 2021 Additionally, the justices declined for now to take up a challenge to the male-only registration requirement for the military draft -- meaning that even though the draft is not implemented, only men will still be required to register for the selective service. Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 8 June 2021 During the civil rights era, their parents represented the Rev. James Groppi, one of the leaders of Milwaukee's fair housing marches; and the Rev. Michael Cullen, a member of the Milwaukee 14 who stole draft records from the city's selective service office and set them on fire. Gina Barton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2021 In addition to strength, stamina and ergonomic shoes, a job with the postal service requires a clean record, two years of safe driving, and a selective service registration. Sonja Sharpstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Dec. 2022 Women required to sign up for selective service taken out An amendment that would have required women ages 18 to 25 to register for the Selective Service, alongside men, was stripped from the legislation. Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY, 15 Dec. 2021

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of selective service was in 1917

Dictionary Entries Near selective service

Cite this Entry

“Selective service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selective%20service. Accessed 17 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!