Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

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.


Etymology

Origin of military time

First recorded in 1945–50


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:

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

“No, at twenty-two hundred hours. That’s military time for ten o’clock p.m.”

From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Join 14,000,000 vocabulary learners

Start learning new words today on VocabTrainer.
You'll remember them forever.

Start training