mobilization
Americannoun
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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 Yellow Vests were mostly nonviolent and had little or no experience of mass mobilization.
From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026
Stefanie Frey, the director of organizing and mobilization at Actors’ Equity, said in a statement that the union views “escape rooms and similar immersive entertainment experiences as another live stage.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
Legal experts and advocacy groups alike have closely followed the case, given its potentially far-reaching implications for protest mobilization and advocacy movements.
From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026
The charismatic cleric could lean on a vast network of mosques and charitable organizations to coordinate the popular mobilization.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026
His nominal goal was to end backbiting about the bomb program from Roosevelt’s director of war mobilization, James F. Byrnes, a former senator and Supreme Court justice.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
