standing army
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of standing army
First recorded in 1595–1605
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.
When the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union collapsed, the need for a large standing army seemed like a thing of the past.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 12, 2026
That reading continued into the 1800s, when both Congress and the Supreme Court referred to the standing army as “regular forces.”
From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025
It appears that the country's leader Kim Jong Un has directed much of his limited resources into missiles and nuclear weapons rather than his standing army.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2024
About the founders: Historians will tell you that when the Constitution was adopted, America had no significant standing army.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 2, 2023
This host her son had assembled was not a standing army such as the Free Cities were accustomed to maintain, nor a force of guardsmen paid in coin.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
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.
