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
- logistician noun
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; -ics
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.
Germany has kept Ramstein Air Base available under standing agreements—a vital U.S. hub for logistics, force projection, and drone-linked operations beyond Europe—even as Berlin insists this isn’t NATO’s war.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026
Global growth and productivity will be so strong that we’re rapidly inventing robots and artificial intelligence to handle logistics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
This is especially important in a country like the UK, which depends heavily on imports and complex logistics networks.
From Science Daily • Apr. 5, 2026
Hoelter said this growth reflects a broader trend among drugs companies to outsource logistics and other work, so that they can "focus on their core businesses: pharmaceutical research and production".
From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026
Still, he had only to make an appearance at Y-12 for all the issues of logistics and construction staging and equipment design that had piled up in his absence to evaporate.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
