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.
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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 U.S. has collected intelligence showing Russia’s early preparations for a possible military mobilization in Ukraine and plans for testing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s resolve, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Kaliningrad, the site of the mobilization test exercise last month, has come under increased scrutiny recently as Western intelligence officials have warned that it could potentially play a role in Moscow’s military planning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Anything we do in Congress has inside maneuvering,” she said, “but without the outside mobilization, we’ve never been able to pass it or save it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Any protests, he said, should "remain strictly within the bounds of tranquility and peaceful mobilization."
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026
France, like Russia, rejected the German ultimatum and declared a general mobilization.
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.
