army brat

American  

noun

Informal.

1. the child of an army officer or enlisted person, especially one who has grown up on army bases or in military communities.

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Usage

What does army brat mean? An army brat is the child of someone (usually an officer) serving full-time in the army or another branch of the military, especially a child who grew up living on military bases. The word brat usually refers to a poorly behaved child, but its use in army brat doesn’t carry any of the negative meaning—it just refers to a kid. There is a culture surrounding army brats, since they share childhood experiences that are unlike many others, especially if they moved from place to place. Example: Michael credits his grasp of several languages to a childhood spent as an army brat moving around to different military bases.

Example Sentences

Munn, who grew up an army brat in a family that moved frequently during her childhood, said she savored “Your Friends & Neighbors” for its scathing commentary on the uppermost class of American society.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025

In a 2019 interview with American Cinematographer, which named her one of the year’s rising stars, she described herself as an "army brat" drawn to movies because "there wasn’t that much to do outside."

From Fox News • Oct. 25, 2021

If this wrestling dynasty has a founding father, he got his start winning base championships as a “bashful” army brat living in the then West German city of Augsburg.

From Washington Post • Feb. 26, 2015

She was an army brat until she was nine.

From The Guardian • Nov. 22, 2012

He was an army brat, and joined up.

From Economist • May 17, 2012