English Reference
Noun

enlistment

n.
C1 Advanced US /ɛnˈɫɪstmənt/ UK /ɛnlˈɪstmənt/ en·list·ment UK spelling enlistments

n.the act of joining the military or a group to serve for a specific period of time. It can also mean the process of getting someone to help you with a task.

n.the act of joining a military force or a group for a fixed period of service. In a broader sense, it refers to the recruitment or mobilisation of resources for a specific purpose.


SIMPLE

He completed his military enlistment last summer.

CONTEXTUAL

The government is seeking to increase the number of volunteers for the national emergency response through a new enlistment campaign.

COMPLEX

The rapid enlistment of local volunteers allowed the community to rebuild the flood-damaged infrastructure within months, demonstrating the power of collective action during a crisis.

During the U.S.-Iraq War, the Army pushed tours to 15 months and forced service members to stay on duty past the end of their enlistments.

The Conversation· 27 Aug 2026

He signed his enlistment papers with an “X,” suggesting that he’d never learned to write his name.

Smithsonian Magazine· 10 Jul 2026

From enlist + -ment.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated