military

American  

[mil-i-ter-ee] / ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy.

   from civilian to military life.

2. of, for, or pertaining to war.

   military preparedness.

3. of or relating to soldiers.

   Synonyms:

   martial, soldierly

4. befitting, characteristic of, or noting a soldier.

   a military bearing.

5. following the life of a soldier.

   a military career.

6. performed by soldiers.

   military duty.

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noun

• militaries,
  plural
• military
  plural

1. the military,

   1. the military establishment of a nation; the armed forces.

   2. military personnel, especially commissioned officers, taken collectively.

      the bar, the press, and the military.

military British  

/ ˈmɪlɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to the armed forces (esp the army), warlike matters, etc

2. of, characteristic of, or about soldiers

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noun

1. the armed services (esp the army)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• militariness
  noun
• antimilitary
  adjective
• nonmilitary
  adjective
• premilitary
  adjective
• promilitary
  adjective
• pseudomilitary
  adjective
• quasi-military
  adjective
• supermilitary
  adjective
• unmilitary
  adjective
• militarily
  adverb
• pseudomilitarily
  adverb
• unmilitarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• militaries
  plural
• military
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

military militaries

We can maintain the dollar’s reserve currency status and with it put America first with economic, military and diplomatic strength.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

For Niger's government, Saturday's mutiny highlights that the military is dealing not only with an external insurgency, but also signs of discontent within its own ranks.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

"These injuries were most likely caused by accidents, falls, hard blows, or other impacts linked to an active lifestyle, whether through hunting, military training, or other demanding activities," said Hashesh.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

The Israeli military, contacted by AFP for comment on Mohammed's death, said at the time that soldiers opened fire during an altercation while deployed in Al-Rihaya.

From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026

Holidays were frivolous and silly, whereas a migration sounded much more serious and responsible, befitting a puffin of the military class.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Boeing makes the Apache attack helicopter for militaries around the world.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

Several countries, notably the United States, have voiced alarm in recent years at what they say is hacking activity backed by Beijing targeting their governments, militaries and businesses.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Nevertheless, the era of drone boats appears to have arrived for militaries around the world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

The companies have "long-standing ties to western governments and militaries", the paper explains.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Across the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization, militaries are seeking to boost supplies of guncotton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Related Words

• army
• force
• navy
• service
• troop