military time

American  

[mil-i-ter-ee tahym] / ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr i ˌtaɪm /

noun

1. Military. time as reckoned over 24 hours, in which hours in the day are numbered from 0 to 24: in speech, often followed by hundred when the time is on the hour, and preceded by zero when the hour is a single digit.

   We leave at five in the morning or, in military time, zero five hundred.

   The message came through at 17:30 military time.

2. twenty-four-hour clock.

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Etymology

Origin of military time

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

That will give the U.S. military time to train Ukrainian soldiers how to operate and maintain the Abrams tanks.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2023

Administration officials say they believe that gave the military time to warn relatives and friends there to leave.

From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2023

“The block-by-block fighting … is costing the Russian military time, initiative and combat-power,” according to the IWS study.

From Washington Times • Mar. 20, 2022

The Navy in early February appealed that order, and at the time Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks said the appeal would give the military time “to make evidence-based and transparent decisions.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2022

A Timex watch with a second hand and a real leather band and numbers for regular time and numbers for military time.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt