military
Americanadjective
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of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy.
from civilian to military life.
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of, for, or pertaining to war.
military preparedness.
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of or relating to soldiers.
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befitting, characteristic of, or noting a soldier.
a military bearing.
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following the life of a soldier.
a military career.
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performed by soldiers.
military duty.
noun
adjective
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of or relating to the armed forces (esp the army), warlike matters, etc
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of, characteristic of, or about soldiers
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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militarinessnoun
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antimilitaryadjective
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nonmilitaryadjective
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premilitaryadjective
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promilitaryadjective
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pseudomilitaryadjective
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quasi-militaryadjective
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supermilitaryadjective
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unmilitaryadjective
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militarilyadverb
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pseudomilitarilyadverb
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unmilitarilyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of military
1575–85; < Latin mīlitāri ( s ), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles ) soldier + -āris -ary
Explanation
Ten, hut! So you'd like the definition of military? Yes, Sir! The adjective military is used to describe anything related to the armed forces or soldiers. Stemming from the Latin word for "soldier," military is a word that goes hand in hand with war. It's the military that protects a country's interests, lead by generals and powered by brave soldiers. When used as an adjective, military describes anything that's related to, well, the military: salutes, campaigns, uniforms, etc.
Vocabulary lists containing military
Veterans Day Vocabulary
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Fighting Words: Belli and Milit
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Franklin D. Roosevelt, "A Date That Will Live In Infamy" (1941)
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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:
There is an old military axiom: The enemy gets a vote too.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
A military parade has marched through the streets of Paris below clouds of red, white and blue smoke left by planes in the sky as part of Bastille Day celebrations.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
“I was in the military during that time, before that time, and after that time. I did my civic duty in court. I was there for about 15 or 20 minutes.”
From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026
The defendants said they’d believed they were targeting a military aircraft.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
These were exact replicas of the German military Enigma.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Australia and Fiji said other Pacific countries with militaries can join the alliance.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Government officials say it will be at least five years before their militaries are close to being capable of replacing U.S. capabilities in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Turf battles between law enforcement and militaries are already complicating efforts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
They can band together to form corporations - which operate like private militaries or shipping companies.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to the Cuban capital in mid-May, and last week representatives of the US and Cuban militaries met at the gates of the US military base at Guantanamo Bay.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
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.
