army

noun

ar·​my ˈär-mē How to pronounce army (audio)
plural armies
1
a
: a large organized body of armed personnel trained for war especially on land
b
: a unit capable of independent action and consisting usually of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary troops
c
often capitalized : the complete military organization of a nation for land warfare
2
: a great multitude
an army of birds
3
: a body of persons organized to advance a cause

Examples of army in a Sentence

the armies of Alexander the Great He left home and joined the army after he graduated from high school. The company employs an army of lawyers to handle its legal affairs. They sent in a whole army of trained technicians. The organization was founded by a dedicated army of volunteers.
Recent Examples on the Web One video from Luhansk showed an elderly woman inside her apartment filling out an election paper and putting it in the ballot box, while a man in army fatigues stands over her with a rifle slung across his chest. Christian Edwards, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Princess Kate was listed on the official army website as leading the annual review of soldiers at Horse Guards Parade in London on June 8, the weekend before the parade, prompting excitement about her return to public duties following her surgery. Stephanie Petit, Peoplemag, 17 Mar. 2024 His father at the time was an army captain and veteran of World War I. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 Unlike the ultra-Orthodox, Israel’s religious Zionist community is fully integrated into the country’s army and economy. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024 Kyiv’s forces are hoping for more military supplies from Ukraine’s Western partners, but in the meantime are struggling against a bigger and better-provisioned Russian army that is pressing hard at certain front-line points inside Ukraine. Jim Heintz and Hanna Arhirova, Quartz, 12 Mar. 2024 The actress and actor served as one-person armies for their respective sides of the Barbenheimer battle, determined to bring the debate to a close once and for all. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024 As the season wears on, these seeds begin to shrivel, turning to a pale army green color. Carly Westerfield, Bon Appétit, 9 Mar. 2024 That campaign will take long hours as this tactical role-playing game has players building a rebel army from scratch. Gieson Cacho, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'army.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English armee, armye "host of armed men, naval fleet, military expedition," borrowed from Anglo-French armé, armee, from armer "to arm entry 2" + -ee, suffix of action or result (going back to Vulgar Latin *-āta, noun derivative from feminine of Latin -ātus, past participle ending of Latin first-conjugation verbs)

Note: Compare Spanish armada "military force, fleet of warships"—see armada.

First Known Use

circa 1522, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of army was circa 1522

Dictionary Entries Near army

Cite this Entry

“Army.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/army. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

army

noun
ar·​my ˈär-mē How to pronounce army (audio)
plural armies
1
a
: a large body of men and women organized for land warfare
b
often capitalized : the complete military organization of a nation for land warfare
2
: a great number of persons or things
3
: a body of persons organized to promote an idea
Etymology

Middle English armee "army," from early French armee (same meaning), derived from Latin arma "weapons"

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