expeditionary
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of expeditionary
First recorded in 1700–10; expedition + -ary
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.
A Marine expeditionary unit was sent from Okinawa to the region for the potential operation.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
French taxes paid for the powerful artillery that breached English-held fortresses and mowed down England’s last expeditionary force, at Castillon, Gascony, in July 1453.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
The United States Marines are the country’s elite shock troops and an expeditionary force that specializes in amphibious assaults.
From Salon • Jun. 12, 2025
Chinese records appear to first mention the island in AD239, when an emperor dispatched an expeditionary force to it - a fact Beijing uses to back its territorial claim.
From BBC • Oct. 14, 2024
A British expeditionary force was about to sail across the English Channel and link up with French forces fighting in Belgium.
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.
