Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

demob

American  
[dee-mob] / diˈmɒb /

noun

  1. demobilization.

  2. a person who has been demobilized.


verb (used with object)

demobbed, demobbing
  1. to discharge (a person) from the armed forces; demobilize.

demob British  
/ diːˈmɒb /

verb

  1. short for demobilize

"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

noun

    1. short for demobilization See demobilization

    2. ( as modifier )

      a demob suit

  1. a soldier who has been demobilized

"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

Etymology

Origin of demob

First recorded in 1915–20; originally short for demobilize


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:

This is a patchwork team still but it is also demob happy and playing for the first time in five years with an adrenal sense of freedom.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 13, 2019

It should be noted that Australia were demob happy by then.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 29, 2014

The 21-year-old left the Royal Flying Corps at the end of World War I and used his demob money to buy surplus food from the Army and sell it from a barrow in Hackney.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2013

He spoke in a 1997 TV documentary about emerging from the Royal Navy after World War II in his demob suit and with £80.

From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2010

We were going in the right direction and demob was in sight.

From Coming of Age: 1939-1946 by John Cox

In a very modern invocation of the swords-to-plowshares principle, he has evidently told Ukrainian officials that its demobbed soldiers could soon be earning Silicon Valley-level salaries operating American data centers in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025

He demobbed in 1946 and lived in Lower Peover until his death, aged 90.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2024

John Stacey, 83, and John Halloran, 81, both from Cardiff, lost touch in 1959 after being demobbed from the army.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2019

When she was demobbed, Patricia, like other child combatants, received a reintegration package including clothes, bed sheets, shoes, three months of food rations and other basic items.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 20, 2019

A footman 'e was before the War, but since 'e's been demobbed 'e's been out of a job.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 158, 1920-05-05 by Sir Owen Seaman

Through the foggy mists of Liverpool rose a forest of cranes, "demobbing" big liners from war to peace.

From Time Magazine Archive

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training