deployment

American  

[dih-ploi-muhnt] / dɪˈplɔɪ mənt /

noun

• deployments
  plural

1. the act of moving something or someone into a strategic position or a position of readiness, or the condition of being in such a position.

   Delays in the deployment of armored vehicles and body armor can cost lives on the front lines.

   Our team is highly experienced in the design, development, and deployment of customized IT solutions for healthcare facilities.

2. the state of being assigned for duty away from home, especially for military purposes.

   Encouragement and support are essential to help returning veterans handle the long-term impacts of deployment and reintegration into a nonmilitary daily routine.

   Community health workers on deployment are assisting in disaster recovery.

3. a period of time during which a person or group is assigned for duty away from home, especially for military purposes.

   She is a helicopter pilot on her second deployment to Afghanistan.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterdeployment
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deployments
  plural

Etymology

Origin of deployment

First recorded in 1775–85; deploy ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Explanation

Deployment is a word, often used by the military, for sending troops into duty. A soldier could be part of a deployment to the Middle East. Deployment refers to assigning people to serve in various locations, especially soldiers and other military personnel. A deployment may include soldiers, as well as equipment and generals. Deployments might be part of a war or a peaceful mission. Also, non-military organizations use this word too: they might speak of a deployment of workers to a new office. When you see the word deployment, you know people are being sent somewhere for a specific mission.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deployment deployments

Legal experts say such a move would probably be swiftly blocked by courts, as would any unlawful deployment of military troops to polls.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

An MoD inquiry into the potential exposure found no evidence the marines and soldiers had been given a health and protection brief informing them of the asbestos hazard before, during or immediately after deployment.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Aside from hardware issues, large-scale deployment requires gathering huge amounts of data -- the real-world equivalent of the online content large language models train on.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

As a military son and a military husband, I know how deeply military families feel about every milestone missed and every week added to a combat deployment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Through my mom’s third deployment and his dad’s cancer.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

The tall, athletic rugby and polo fan embarked on a decade-long military career that included two Afghanistan deployments, one as a helicopter pilot.

From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026

The Revolutionary Guard supervised deployments of missiles, naval weapons and drone launchers to positions overlooking the Red Sea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Hegseth told reporters on Thursday that “some deployments are longer than others.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

But recently, some deployments have been extended beyond the standard period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Over the years, over the subsequent deployments, I sent her hundreds of letters.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

Related Words

• distribution
• formation