militia
Americannoun
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a body of citizens enrolled for military service, and called out periodically for drill but serving full time only in emergencies.
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a body of citizen soldiers as distinguished from professional soldiers.
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all able-bodied males considered by law eligible for military service.
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a body of citizens organized in a paramilitary group and typically regarding themselves as defenders of individual rights against the presumed interference of the federal government.
noun
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a body of citizen (as opposed to professional) soldiers
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an organization containing men enlisted for service in emergency only
Etymology
Origin of militia
1580–90; < Latin mīlitia soldiery, equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles ) soldier + -ia -ia
Explanation
If you live in a remote place that's under attack by an upstart band of thieves, start a militia. A militia is a band of civilians trained to do army type business, without officially joining the army. Militia comes from mīlet-, Latin for "soldier," but the word now refers to a band of fighters who aren't officially soldiers. Sometimes militias add on to regular army forces, like the citizen's militias who fought alongside regular troops in the Revolutionary War. But you'll frequently hear militia if you're listening to news about dangerously violent parts of the world where, instead of voting for change, groups form militias and fight for political power. It's also a verb: to militia.
Vocabulary lists containing militia
The Bill of Rights
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Fighting Words: Belli and Milit
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The Breadwinner
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Marion Square is owned by a private organization, the Board of Field Officers of the Fourth Brigade of the South Carolina Militia, which got the land from the city in 1833.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
In addition, roughly 4.5 million members of the National Bolivarian Militia, an auxiliary force created in 2005 and made up of civilian volunteers and reservists, have reportedly mobilized.
From Salon • Nov. 3, 2025
Those cases interpreted the Militia Acts of 1795 and 1807, which broadly empowered the president to “call forth” the militia to counter an insurrection or rebellion “as he shall think proper.”
From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025
The painting’s original name is Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq - but it became known as The Night Watch, in the 18th Century.
From BBC • Nov. 12, 2024
Alarmed at the deteriorating conditions, he called in the six-thousand-member Fourth Regiment of the Illinois Militia to bring things back under control.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
