Word.ws English Dictionary

pressed into service

pressed into service is the simple past and past participle of press into service.

Meaning of press into service

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.
    Synonyms:
    army volunteer

Questions about pressed into service

What is pressed into service the simple past and past participle of?
Pressed into service is the simple past and past participle of press into service.

Words near pressed into service in the dictionary

  1. pressed for time
  2. pressed glass
  3. pressed glasses
  4. pressed ham
  5. pressed hams
  6. pressed into service
  7. pressed on
  8. pressed one's luck
  9. pressed out
  10. pressed pause
  11. pressed rice

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pressed into service (page history and authors); 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.

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