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

Trump denied any security concerns, posting on social media that the stop in Mildenhall was so that service members there could view the new jet. — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2026

The service members outside those categories are the least likely to have a chaplain who knows their tradition. — Kerri J. Malloy, The Conversation, 9 July 2026

The approximately 400 service members who have been injured during the war may need, after immediate care, additional medical and disability services over time at a price of some $400 million annually, according to the CSIS study. — Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 8 July 2026

Ten Democratic lawmakers told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a letter Sunday that his gutting of a program focused on protecting civilians is a leadership failure that imperils service members and erodes the military’s moral standing. — Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 6 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for service member

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