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Showing results for expeditionary. Search instead for pre-expeditionary.

expeditionary

American  
[ek-spi-dish-uh-ner-ee] / ˌɛk spɪˈdɪʃ əˌnɛr i /

adjective

  1. pertaining to or composing an expedition.

    an expeditionary force.


expeditionary British  
/ ˌɛkspɪˈdɪʃənərɪ /

adjective

  1. relating to or constituting an expedition, esp a military one

    an expeditionary force

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of expeditionary

First recorded in 1700–10; expedition + -ary

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:

Central Command, responsible for American forces in the Middle East, to move a Marine expeditionary group, among others, to the region, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

From The Wall Street Journal Mar. 15, 2026

On Friday, the Pentagon announced that an additional expeditionary unit of 2,500 Marines was being deployed to the region to support the effort.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 15, 2026

The United States Marines are the country’s elite shock troops and an expeditionary force that specializes in amphibious assaults.

From Salon Jun. 12, 2025

Chinese records appear to first mention the island in AD239, when an emperor dispatched an expeditionary force to it - a fact Beijing uses to back its territorial claim.

From BBC Oct. 14, 2024

A British expeditionary force was about to sail across the English Channel and link up with French forces fighting in Belgium.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

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