active duty

American  

noun

Military.

1. the status of full-time service.

   on active duty.

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active duty Idioms  

1. Full-time service, as in Julian is 81, but he still comes to the office every day and is very much on active duty. This term comes from the military, where it stands in opposition to reserve, which refers to troops still in the military but not actively engaged. It is occasionally transferred to civilian matters as well. [First half of 1800s]

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Example Sentences

Reduced and free admission will be available to those receiving federal food assistance and active duty personnel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

U.S. relief pitcher Griffin Jax, a captain in the Air Force Reserve, missed much of two minor league seasons while on active duty at Cape Canaveral.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

Some western estimates put its active duty contingent in the hundreds of thousands, still a very substantial total.

From BBC • Jan. 13, 2026

Kelly could even be recalled to active duty, then court-martialed, an act that would remove his military status entirely and even land the senator in prison.

From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026

And then he said, “They will not act as segregationists or integrationists, but as soldiers called to active duty to carry out their assigned tasks.”

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals