deploy
Americanverb (used with object)
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Military. to spread out (troops) so as to form an extended front or line.
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to arrange in a position of readiness, or to move strategically or appropriately.
to deploy a battery of new missiles.
verb (used without object)
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to spread out strategically or in an extended front or line.
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to come into a position ready for use.
The plane can't land unless the landing gear deploys.
verb
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to adopt or cause to adopt a battle formation, esp from a narrow front formation
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(tr) to redistribute (forces) to or within a given area
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deploy
First recorded in 1470–80; from French déployer, equivalent to dé- prefix with negative force + ployer “to fold”; see dis- 1, ploy
Explanation
To deploy is to move into fighting formation, the way a military commander might deploy troops in preparation for a battle. You'll almost always find the word deploy in a military context. The Latin plicāre means "fold." By adding dis- to it, to get displicāre, we get the idea of an "unfolding," or distributing. This is the basis of the word deploy, and it gives us a good mental image of the sending out, or "unfolding," of troops in a military plan. To deploy means more than just dispersing troops, however — there is usually a specific formation in mind, consistent with military strategies. And you can deploy nonmilitary assets, too, like accounting teams before an IRS audit.
Vocabulary lists containing deploy
ASVAB Word Knowledge
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A Long Way Gone
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John F. Kennedy's Address to the American People on the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
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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.
Deploy bourbon instead of rye, and it’s a Boulevardier.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2024
Deploy debiasing strategies: Clinicians should acknowledge that clinical assessments are cross-sectional snapshots perhaps influenced by mental shortcuts or emotions.
From Scientific American • Oct. 26, 2023
Deploy the full extent of the technology that is available to eliminate waste and maximize efficiency.
From Salon • Dec. 23, 2022
“Unleash a litany of spells with Skeleton Mages, imbuing them with shadow, cold, and sacrificial magics. Deploy tanking Bone Golems, health-stealing Blood Golems, and charging Iron Golems. Or sacrifice them all to absorb their power.”
From The Verge • Jun. 12, 2022
But then There is that night of thunder, and the dawning And all that day of storm and toward the evening He says: "Deploy the eagles!"
From Toward the Gulf by Masters, Edgar Lee
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.
