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Military & Defence vocabulary · Training & Service Life

Enlist

Meaning in military & defence, with examples

/ɪnˈlɪst/verbCommon term

In military & defence, enlist means: To join the armed forces voluntarily by signing up for a period of service, usually as a private soldier rather than as an officer.

In Turkish: askere yazılmak, gönüllü olarak orduya katılmak

How it is used

People enlist in the army, navy or air force. In American English 'enlisted personnel' means everyone below officer rank. Someone who enlists signs an enlistment contract; a new member is a recruit.

Example sentences

  1. He enlisted in the navy at eighteen and later became an engineer.

  2. Enlisted personnel and officers eat in separate dining halls on this base.

Common collocations

  • enlist in the army
  • enlisted personnel
  • enlistment contract
  • enlisted ranks
  • conscriptionA system in which the state requires citizens, usually young men, to serve in the armed forces for a fixed period.
  • basic trainingThe first period of military training for new recruits, teaching discipline, fitness, drill and the essential skills of a soldier.
  • privateThe lowest rank in an army, held by a soldier who has finished basic training and does not command other soldiers.
  • dischargeThe official release of a person from military service, at the end of their contract or period of service or for medical or other reasons.

More terms: Training & Service Life

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