selective service

American  

noun

1. compulsory military service.

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selective service British  

noun

1. (formerly) compulsory military service under which men were conscripted selectively

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Etymology

Origin of selective service

First recorded in 1919

Example Sentences

I was sent to wait out the remainder of the day before being taken back to my local selective service board and returning home to Southern Maryland.

From Washington Post • Mar. 5, 2022

Dowe’s father was a member of the Army Reserves, selective service.

From Washington Times • Nov. 16, 2020

He said Den Hollander had been furious that he had not been involved in a federal selective service case that he filed with Angelucci.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2020

By 1972, fewer than 30,000 men were being drafted per year, and selective service was suspended in 1973.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2016

"Morgan is difficult in debate, Mo. He got out of the draft by writing so many complicated letters questioning selective service procedures that they finally figured it would be easier to classify him, 1Y."

From Joe Burke's Last Stand by Wetterau, John Moncure