army
Americannoun
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the military forces of a nation, exclusive of the navy and in some countries the air force.
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(in large military land forces) a unit consisting typically of two or more corps and a headquarters.
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a large body of persons trained and armed for war.
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any body of persons organized for any purpose.
an army of census takers.
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a very large number or group of something; a great multitude; a host.
the army of the unemployed.
noun
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the military land forces of a nation
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a military unit usually consisting of two or more corps with supporting arms and services
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(modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of an army
army rations
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any large body of people united for some specific purpose
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a large number of people, animals, etc; multitude
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of army
1350–1400; Middle English armee < Middle French < Latin armāta. Cf. Armada
Explanation
An army is an organized group of fighters, especially a country's official military force. When a country goes to war, it sends an army to fight. An army is typically defined as fighting on land, while a navy battles at sea, and some countries make this even more clear by distinguishing their "Land Army" from their "Air Army." The 14th century meaning of army was "armed expedition," from the Old French armée and the Latin root armata, "armed, equipped, or in arms."
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.
See Examples For:
Behind the professionals are an army of volunteers.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
This month alone 360,000 retail accounts in Korea have been wiped out and the market has recorded 1.2million margin calls as Korea’s army of retail investor ‘ants’ suffered heavy losses.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
"May God help the army, it doesn't have the authority to do anything," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Walking trails, native gardens and playpens ring the structure, watched over by an army of volunteers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
In the past, they had scared off the occasional whale, but they’d never faced an army of whales.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
“There has already been a sign for you in the two armies that met,” the verse said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
All this was despite the economic boost from the World Cup, which has brought armies of big-spending fans to multiple American big cities.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026
But the tide has turned back in favour of the military, analysts say, after China threw support behind it and Beijing-backed truces were signed with two of the most powerful ethnic minority armies.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
If either he or Boll hoped Musk’s endorsement would boost the film’s profile, they’ll be sorely mistaken: Bot armies don’t pay to rent movies.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
But it was won at the cost of a million Russian casualties, a staggering loss from which the czar’s armies would never recover.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
