selective service

American  

noun

1. compulsory military service.

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selective service British  

noun

1. (formerly) compulsory military service under which men were conscripted selectively

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Etymology

Origin of selective service

First recorded in 1919

Example Sentences

I was sent to wait out the remainder of the day before being taken back to my local selective service board and returning home to Southern Maryland.

From Washington Post • Mar. 5, 2022

He said he voted against including women in the draft and said he thinks selective service as a whole is outdated, but it was not worth sinking the entire bill over.

From Washington Times • Sep. 23, 2021

He said Den Hollander had been furious that he had not been involved in a federal selective service case that he filed with Angelucci.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 21, 2020

By 1972, fewer than 30,000 men were being drafted per year, and selective service was suspended in 1973.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2016

July 20—Drawing at Washington of names for first army under selective service.

From Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights by Miller, Kelly