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Glite Dictionary
to muster out

to muster out

1 7.2
Officially let a member of the military leave after their service ends
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈmʌstər aʊt/
  • Jargon
translation icon : dar de baja
  • The soldiers were mustered out upon the completion of their tour of duty.
  • mustered out of service
  • mustered out of the Army
  • officers who were mustered out

Examples

  • After serving three years, he was officially mustered out of the military last week.

  • The long journey ahead included a stop in Cairo, Illinois, then a train ride to Camp Chase, Ohio for the surviving soldiers to be mustered out and find their way home.

    Remember the Sultana (2015)

  • By July 14, all Georgia troops had mustered out of service.

    Academic text (2011)

  • "I was mustered out at Camp Valley Forge," he told me at supper.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Romulus Tolbert was mustered out on 19th, I believe, at Camp Chase.

    Remember the Sultana (2015)

  • In December 1918, having remained stateside, he mustered out as a private (first class).

    Academic text (2017)

  • Their enlistments having expired, the men of the 8th Wisconsin were mustered out of federal service in late 1864.

    Blog text (2)

  • North Africa, Sicily, Italy, Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge—and they were mustered out in Czechoslovakia at the end of the war.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Once all the paperwork was completed, she finally got mustered out and returned home.

Synonyms

to discharge
vsto muster out
  • Formal
100 4.4

Officially release someone from a duty, job, or responsibility

is specifically used for military release usually after a term of service
to deactivate
vsto muster out
  • Formal
21 4.3

To take a person or unit out of active service

is about formally releasing people from military duty after their term
to demobilize
vsto muster out
  • Specialized
4 7.5

To release soldiers from military service and return them to civilian life

is used for official release after completing a set term of service
to inactivate
vsto muster out
  • Formal
1 7.2

To officially take a person or unit out of military service

is specifically about releasing individuals after completing their service term
to demob
vsto muster out
  • Archaic
9.1

To release someone from the military after their service

is the formal general term for official release after service ends

Antonyms

to muster in
  • Jargon
8.4

To officially add someone to the army as a soldier

How Official

to discharge
  • Formal
100 4.4
to muster out
  • Jargon
1 7.2
to retire
874 2.0
to separate
481 2.9
to leave
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

muster out infinitive
mustered out past
mustered out past participle
mustering out present participle
musters out third person singular

Morphology

muster + out

Although 'muster' (assemble/roll-call) plus 'out' evokes a loose idea of being taken 'out' of the rolls, the specific administrative sense 'to discharge from military service' is a specialist, historical usage that is not directly predictable from the literal constituents by a B1 learner. There is a partial semantic connection but the precise meaning usually requires prior exposure or explanation.

Etymology

The phrasal verb muster out comes from old army practice: soldiers were called to a roll call called a muster, and those marked out were sent home. So muster out means 'to be officially released from military service'.