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.
-
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
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militaries,
plural
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military
plural
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:
“I solemnly swear allegiance to my Fatherland, the Russian Federation,” read the stocky 17-year-old, decked out in a fresh military uniform with a rifle slung across his shoulder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Scientists knew that whoever succeeded could gain an unprecedented military advantage.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
Back in Moscow, Artyom was held in a military detention facility but managed to escape.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
UN experts said in their report that Kisangani was serving as a new hub for the deployment of private military companies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Instead, they consist of armed civilians and paramilitary—unofficial military combatants who operate similarly to legitimate armed forces.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Advanced militaries already deploy satellites in space for range of purposes, from supplying secure communications to reconnaissance, and providing precise location information for targeted strikes and detecting missile launches.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
That foresees a world of disrupted trade through tariffs and conflicts over chokepoints, more costly onshoring and less immigration, while political systems test the limits of spending to fund their militaries.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
“This is the kind of situation in which great-power militaries like the United States struggle,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
For decades, Chinese leaders have worried about the country’s heavy reliance on imported crude, most of which transits through straits that the U.S. or other militaries could seek to block in a conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
The United States and several other countries frequently condemn what they say is state-backed Chinese hacking activity of governments, militaries and businesses.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
