logistics
Americannoun
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the branch of military science and operations dealing with the procurement, supply, and maintenance of equipment, with the movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel, with the provision of facilities and services, and with related matters.
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the planning, implementation, and coordination of the details of a business or other operation.
noun
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the science of the movement, supplying, and maintenance of military forces in the field
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the management of materials flow through an organization, from raw materials through to finished goods
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the detailed planning and organization of any large complex operation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of logistics
First recorded in 1875–80; from French logistique “quartermaster's work,” equivalent to log(er) “to lodge, be quartered (said of troops)” + -istique -istic; see -ics
Explanation
When you sit down to plan a party and work out how many cups you need, where you'll put the chairs, and what time you'll start cooking, you are working out the logistics — the necessary details. Logistics can describe difficult, technical operations. Many colleges have departments of logistics, which teach students how to plan for complicated events, like wars. The term is often used in military contexts to describe how to get soldiers to a certain place with enough food, toilet paper, guns, ammunition, and transportation. You'll often hear logistics used in regular speech to describe any effort that requires some prior planning — even if it's just the logistics of picking someone up at the airport.
Vocabulary lists containing logistics
The Things They Carried
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Drama
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This Week in Pop Culture: December 1 - 7, 2018
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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.
Burton said the company has a fleet of about 200 trucks, 56 of which are now zero-emission, including hydrogen fuel cells and battery electrics whose charging time is factored into the logistics of the drive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
There has been a series of unauthorised drone flights in recent months over sensitive sites in Germany including military bases, airports, energy terminals, seaports and logistics companies.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
Klaus-Michael Kühne, the German billionaire who built his family freight-forwarding business into global logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel, died at age 89.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
A logistics centre next to an Ozon facility on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg was also hit overnight.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
On the way home, the most I get out of Muhammad as to why Farooq was there the whole time is that he’s helping Saint Sarah with the logistics of our Quiz Bowl participation.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
