service member

noun

variants or less commonly servicemember

ˈsər-vəs-ˌmem-bər 

plural service members also servicemembers

: a person who is a member of the armed forces

Once Federal Judge Martin Barash administered the oath of allegiance and spoke about their new responsibilities and privileges, he singled out each service member by name (the only new citizens offered this recognition), and the crowd responded with standing ovations.

—Smithsonian

For three-quarters of a century, East Helena has proudly honored servicemembers with a monument in the heart of town. And now community leaders are looking for names of area veterans as they rebuild the monument with a new design.

—Tom Kuglin

Examples of service member in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The administration appealed after Reyes issued a preliminary injunction requested by attorneys for several transgender people who are active-duty service members and others seeking to join the military. —Michael Kunzelman, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2026

The decision only applies to the service members who sued the administration and does not bar the Pentagon from blocking transgender people from joining the military. —Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 1 June 2026

But only service members who are not overweight and fit certain height and weight requirements can attend, according to a screenshot of a Pentagon memo shared to a military Facebook group and a person familiar with the matter. —Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 29 May 2026

The lawmakers wrote to Davies expressing their concern that the department is not doing enough to safeguard service members’ lives. —Mike Brest, The Washington Examiner, 28 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for service member

• crewmember
• december
• dismember
• nonmember
• november
• remember
• september
• ember