selective service

noun

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

Examples of selective service in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
If smaller-scale transits resume, Premier Alliance carriers may start by transporting smaller volumes or deploying selective services to test conditions, according to Pai. Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 29 Dec. 2025 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 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 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 Security is not a public good but, rather, a selective service. Bilal Y. Saab, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2015

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

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

Cite this Entry

“Selective service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/selective%20service. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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