Word.ws English Dictionary

press into service

press into service verb: to make someone perform a task or duty, especially one they are not prepared or willing to do; to make something serve a function, especially one it was not designed or intended for.

Verb

press into service (third-person singular simple present presses into service, present participle pressing into service, simple past and past participle pressed into service)

  1. (idiomatic) To make someone perform a task or duty, especially one they are not prepared or willing to do; to make something serve a function, especially one it was not designed or intended for.
    • Anyone with basic first-aid training was pressed into service as a triage nurse after the earthquake.
    • In essence, the book gives a step-by-step account of how the author built, modified and developed his own 6-inch Newtonian reflector, pressing into service such materials as old larder shelves, a car halfshaft, pieces of Meccano, and several coffee-jar tops.1979 January 25, Iain Nicolson, book review, New Scientist, page 269
    Synonyms:
    army volunteer

Synonyms of press into service

Forms of press into service

third-person singular presentpresses into service
present participlepressing into service
past participlepressed into service
pastpressed into service

Questions about press into service

What does press into service mean?
Press into service means to make someone perform a task or duty, especially one they are not prepared or willing to do; to make something serve a function, especially one it was not designed or intended for.
What part of speech is press into service?
Press into service is a verb.
What is the past tense of press into service?
The past tense of press into service is pressed into service.

Words near press into service in the dictionary

  1. press gaggle
  2. press gaggles
  3. press gallery
  4. press home
  5. press in
  6. press into service
  7. press junket
  8. press junkets
  9. press kit
  10. press kits
  11. press money

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: press into service (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-press into service.ogg.

Cite this entry: “press into service.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/press_into_service. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.