reservist

noun

re·​serv·​ist ri-ˈzər-vist How to pronounce reservist (audio)
Synonyms of reservistnext
: a member of a military reserve

Examples of reservist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
During the first two days of the island’s largest war games, some 20,000 reservists were mobilized to practice the defense of critical infrastructure such as ports, power plants and bridges. — Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026 Taiwan’s Defense Ministry did not say how many reservists will be involved in the drills. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026 His absence from Israel generated its own controversy after the October 7 attack led the government to call up more than 300,000 army reservists while Netanyahu, who was eligible for reserve duty, remained in Miami. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 July 2026 Coady, 20, a sophomore at Drake University and an Army reservist from West Des Moines had joined the Army Reserve while in college. — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 26 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for reservist

Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reservist was in 1876

Rhymes for reservist

See All Rhymes for reservist

Browse Nearby Words

reservice
reservist
reservoir
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reservist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reservist. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

reservist

noun
re·​serv·​ist ri-ˈzər-vəst How to pronounce reservist (audio)
: a member of a military reserve

More from Merriam-Webster on reservist

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for reservist

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about reservist

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All