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to muster in

to muster in

8.4
To officially add someone to the army as a soldier
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈmʌstər ɪn/
  • Jargon
translation icon : enrolar
  • The new recruits will be mustered in during the formal ceremony next week.

Examples

  • He was mustered in as a private after completing his training at the military academy.

  • He helped organize Company F and was mustered in as first sergeant of the company in the second half of 1861.

    Blog text (11)
  • It is estimated that during the life of the program on the Georgia campus from 1942 to 1945, approximately twenty thousand cadets were mustered in and out.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Many and diverse are the "facts" that are mustered in defense of one or the other claimant; dendrochronological analysis, for example, reveals that the Philadelphia version, painted in oils on parchment and attached to a wooden panel, was cut from the same tree as two authenticated portraits by van Eyck.

    Academic text (2002)
  • After a thorough background check, she was finally mustered in to join the navy.

Synonyms

to enlist
vsto muster in
72 4.2

To join an organization like the army or persuade someone else to join

focuses on a formal official intake process into the armed forces

Antonyms

to discharge
  • Formal
100 4.4

Officially release someone from a duty, job, or responsibility

How Official

to muster in
  • Jargon
8.4
to enlist
72 4.2
to enroll
  • US
164 2.7
to sign up
408 1.3

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

muster + in

The verbs combine compositionally: 'muster' (to collect or summon people) + 'in' (into a group/location) yields the sense of bringing or enrolling people into a service. Although the phrase is somewhat formal and chiefly military, the meaning is directly derivable from the constituents and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Muster in comes from the military act of muster, which means gathering people. Officers would call new soldiers together, check them, write their names, and put them in the unit list, so to be mustered in means 'to officially join the army'.