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armament

American  
[ahr-muh-muhnt] / ˈɑr mə mənt /

noun

  1. the arms and equipment with which a military unit or military apparatus is supplied.

  2. a land, sea, or air force equipped for war.

  3. armor.

  4. Usually armaments. military strength collectively.

    the armaments race; a country without armaments.

  5. the process of equipping or arming for war.


armament British  
/ ˈɑːməmənt /

noun

  1. (often plural) the weapon equipment of a military vehicle, ship, or aircraft

  2. a military force raised and armed ready for war

  3. preparation for war involving the production of equipment and arms

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonarmament noun

Etymology

Origin of armament

1690–1700; < Latin armāmenta fittings, equivalent to armā ( re ) to fit out ( arm 2 ) + -menta (plural) -ment

Explanation

Use the noun armament to talk about the kind of weapons that armies use when they wage wars. A tank, for example, is an armament. The word armament is good for describing heavy duty weaponry and the equipment that's associated with it, like bombs, fighter jets, tanks, and assault rifles. It's even more common to use the plural form, armaments. In the seventeenth century, the word was mainly used to mean "naval force equipped for war," and it comes from the Latin root armare, "to arm, or to furnish with weapons."

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Vocabulary lists containing armament

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.

These activities encouraged curiosity and empathetic listening, skills as important to future Navy and Marine Corps officers as learning military tactics and armament.

From Salon • Apr. 28, 2025

"There are no commercially available systems that you can put on a container ship that can protect you against the armament that the Houthis are deploying at the moment," he told the BBC's Today programme.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2024

It also hopes joint ventures with international armament producers can help revive its domestic industry.

From Reuters • Nov. 17, 2023

“The U.S. is very unlikely to allow South Korea to create an independent armament considering its alliances with other countries,” Mr. Lee said.

From Washington Times • Nov. 2, 2023

They covered the secretary’s table, the reading desk, the stools—dreary papers of government, still bravely persevered in—of law, still to be codified—of commissariat and of armament and of orders for the day.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White