pentagon

[ pen-tuh-gon, -guhn ]

noun

1. a polygon having five angles and five sides.
2. the Pentagon,
   1. a building in Arlington, Virginia, having a plan in the form of a regular pentagon, containing most U.S. Defense Department offices.
   2. the U.S. Department of Defense; the U.S. military establishment.

Pentagon

¹

/ ˈpɛntəˌɡɒn /

noun

1. the five-sided building in Arlington, Virginia, that houses the headquarters of the US Department of Defense
2. the military leadership of the US

pentagon

²

/ ˈpɛntəˌɡɒn; pɛnˈtæɡənəl /

noun

1. a polygon having five sides

pentagon

/ pĕn′tə-gŏn′ /

1. A polygon having five sides.

Pentagon

¹

1. An immense five-sided building in Virginia , just outside Washington, D.C. , that serves as headquarters for the Department of Defense .

pentagon

²

1. A polygon having five sides.

Notes

The term is often used to refer to the Department of Defense or the military: “The Pentagon agreed today to submit the modified weapons plan to the president.”

The Pentagon was severely damaged by the September 11 attacks .

Derived Forms

• pentagonal, adjective

Other Words From

• pen·tag·o·nal [pen-, tag, -, uh, -nl], adjective
• pen·tago·nal·ly adverb
• subpen·tago·nal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pentagon¹

1560–70; < Late Latin pentagōnum < Greek pentágōnon, noun use of neuter of pentágōnos five-angled. See penta-, -gon

Example Sentences

Pentagon leaders agree to a person that the U.S. war against ISIS is succeeding.

From The Daily Beast

“I think it is important to say it is too soon to judge success or failure,” said Col. Steven Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.

From The Daily Beast

Granted, James is in an office in the Pentagon, and not on the front lines.

From The Daily Beast

The Pentagon said Faal served in the Air Force for seven years, during which time he became a U.S. citizen.

From The Daily Beast

But the program is just six weeks long, the Pentagon admitted Monday.

From The Daily Beast

Apparently he got his communication from the Pentagon about the time I got mine.

From Project Gutenberg

They circled the Pentagon with hundreds of protestors and said a magic spell that was supposed to levitate it.

From Project Gutenberg

The trick was to come up with something with the media friendliness of the levitation of the Pentagon.

From Project Gutenberg

Miles went on to say that he had just been conferring with Ahlgren at the Pentagon.

From Project Gutenberg

Monroe is a five-bastioned fort of masonry work, and accordingly might be roughly described as a huge pentagon.

From Project Gutenberg