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 citizen mobilization in Minnesota and the No Kings rallies are examples of that.
From Salon • May 28, 2026
They looked at 11 other booms, including the buildout of U.S. railroads, World War II mobilization and the Japan asset bubble, to get a sense of how long this one will run.
From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026
“The defining story of this Saturday’s mobilization is not just how many people are protesting — but where they are protesting,” Leah Greenberg, co-founder of Indivisible, said during the press briefing.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026
Recent protests in Minnesota, where Twin Cities residents took to the streets to protect their neighbors from the administration’s mass-deportation efforts, offer one template for what such mobilization would look like in an American context.
From Slate • Mar. 17, 2026
“In the first days of mobilization there was of course a lot of enthusiasm,” recalled Robert Poustis, who was a French student at the time.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
