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.
Steel made the point several times that Grant handled the L.A. trip logistics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Investors will be scrutinising whether the company can navigate theses issues, such as shifting logistics out of China to avoid the US and EU's import fees, Deglise-Favre said.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
"Prolonged air-raid alerts affect not only people's safety, but also the operation of businesses, logistics, transportation, schools, kindergartens," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
Analysts at research firm CRU said dry weather associated with El Niño is already affecting river-borne logistics at a major mine in Papua New Guinea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
“I am still figuring out the logistics of interacting with physical things,” Marco says, flattening the raven’s wings and letting it limp down the length of his arm.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
