active service

British

noun

military duty in an operational area

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

That threshold will be lowered to "warlike preparations", which is already the threshold for reservists who have left active service in the past few years.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026

Just 18 of its fleet of 34 planes are in active service, according to officials.

From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025

SINGAPORE—China has put its largest and most sophisticated aircraft carrier into active service, boosting Beijing’s quest to create a formidable oceangoing navy that can challenge U.S. power in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Reuters reported that Wynn, who was named to the bench by former President Barack Obama, is the first Democratic appointee to postpone their retirement from active service since Trump's win.

From Salon • Dec. 16, 2024

Now that he was back in active service the “honorable war wound” was completely forgotten.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023