re-enlist

re-enlist — verb

1. to sign up for military duty again after leaving, or to extend your time in acti

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to sign up for military duty again after leaving, or to extend your time in active service.

Example

Dario re-enlisted in the navy after a short break from military life.

re-enlist in + military branch

The army offered Otis a bonus if he agreed to re-enlist for another tour.

agree to re-enlist + for + duration

Common collocations
  • re-enlist in the navy/army/marines/air force
  • re-enlist for another tour/term/year
  • decide/agree/choose to re-enlist
  • offer someone a bonus to re-enlist
Synonyms
  • re-up

    informal military slang, same meaning but much less formal

  • rejoin

    broader meaning — can refer to any group or organisation, not only the military

  • reengage

    more formal and not limited to military contexts; often implies recommitting to a task or cause

Antonyms
  • discharge

    to be officially released from military service, the opposite of staying in

  • retire

    to leave military service permanently at the end of a career

Grammar Patterns

re-enlist + in/with + military branch

re-enlist + for + duration

Usage Note

Frequently used intransitively. The military branch is usually introduced by in or with: re-enlist in the army, re-enlist with the marines. For a fixed period of service, use for: re-enlist for another three years. The transitive form (a commander re-enlists someone) is less common but accepted in official contexts.

Common Mistakes

After graduation, she re-enlisted at the local hospital.
After graduation, she started working at the local hospital.
re-enlist is specific to military service, not general employment or volunteering.
He re-enlisted his car for another year.
He renewed his car insurance for another year.
re-enlist does not apply to renewing contracts for vehicles, insurance, or memberships.

Word family

  • re-enlistment
    nounB2
  • enlist
    verbB1
  • enlistment
    nounB2
  • enlisted
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Re-enlist is the standard, neutral term for signing up to serve in the military again. Re-up is informal military slang — it would sound out of place in a formal report but is natural among service members. Rejoin is broader: you can rejoin any group, club, or organisation, not only the armed forces. Reengage is the most formal of the four; it suggests a renewed commitment to a cause or activity rather than a literal second enlistment. For example: 'After a year as a civilian instructor, Sergeant Park decided to re-enlist.' But: 'After a year of retirement, she reengaged with volunteer work.'

re-enlist ↗re-uprejoin ↗reengage

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • decide to re-enlist
  • agree to re-enlist
  • choose to re-enlist
  • offer someone a bonus to re-enlist
  • re-enlist for another term

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

Formed by adding the prefix re- ('again') to enlist. Enlist itself comes from en- ('in, into') and list (an old word for a military roll or register), so to enlist originally meant to have your name entered on a military register. Re-enlist therefore means to have your name entered on the register once more.