mobilization
Americannoun
-
the act or process of marshaling, organizing, or preparing something for action.
The study was undertaken as part of the mobilization for Ebola prevention in Sierra Leone.
-
the act or process of calling up or organizing military forces to prepare for active service, or of organizing industries, goods, etc., to serve the government in time of war.
As an infantryman, he was on the front lines assisting in the mobilization of vehicles, troops, and weaponry.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mobilization
First recorded in 1795–1805; mobiliz(e) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )
Explanation
When a government gets its troops prepared for battle, that's mobilization. It's also mobilization when you organize your family to throw a surprise party for your sister. Preparing a group of people so they're ready to act at a moment's notice is what mobilization is all about. It comes from the verb mobilize, which literally means "to make mobile." Both words have been used in a military context since the 1850s, originally to talk about the Imperial Russian Army and its mobilization at the start of the Crimean War. Before that, mobilization simply meant "rendering capable of movement."
Vocabulary lists containing mobilization
World War I
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Chapter 24: World War I
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Chapter 24: Imperialism and World War I
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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.
The mobilization can’t replace the capacity of shipping or compete on cost, nor can it avert shortages of jet fuel and other energy products.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
In this environment, an effective national counterterrorism strategy would likely point to stopping terrorism further upstream, interrupting radicalization and violent mobilization at an earlier stage.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
Behind this digital mobilization, according to multiple analysts, are accounts tied to Oseguera's CJNG.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
Like everyone I spoke to, Tim and Star ascribe Minneapolis’ successful mobilization to lessons learned during that time.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026
On the campus, many students had come into contact with one of the early icons of a mobilization that seemed to be gaining national momentum.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
