enlistment

[en-list-muhnt]

noun

1. the period of time for which one is committed to military service.

2. an act of enlisting.

Other Word Forms

• preenlistment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of enlistment¹

First recorded in 1740–50; enlist + -ment

Example Sentences

Among the American troops, there were mutinies and desertions and soldiers simply going home when their enlistment was up.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

If the government's targets are not met, a form of compulsory enlistment could be considered by parliament.

Read more on BBC

In 2022, it had more than twice the per capita military enlistment rate of the highest U.S. state, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Acknowledge young Henry Kissinger’s physical courage, his enlistment as a young refugee in the American army, his willingness to risk his life in the battle to liberate Europe from Hitler.

Read more on Salon

When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863—declaring enslaved people in the rebellious states “forever free” and opening the Union Army to black enlistment—Douglass and other skeptics were electrified.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• enrollment 
• recruitment