military

American  

[mil-i-ter-ee] / ˈmɪl ɪˌtɛr i /

adjective

1. of, for, or pertaining to the army or armed forces, often as distinguished from the navy.

   from civilian to military life.

2. of, for, or pertaining to war.

   military preparedness.

3. of or relating to soldiers.

   Synonyms:

   martial, soldierly

4. befitting, characteristic of, or noting a soldier.

   a military bearing.

5. following the life of a soldier.

   a military career.

6. performed by soldiers.

   military duty.

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noun

militaries, plural military plural

1. the military,

   1. the military establishment of a nation; the armed forces.

   2. military personnel, especially commissioned officers, taken collectively.

      the bar, the press, and the military.

military British  

/ ˈmɪlɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of or relating to the armed forces (esp the army), warlike matters, etc

2. of, characteristic of, or about soldiers

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noun

1. the armed services (esp the army)

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• militariness
  noun
• antimilitary
  adjective
• nonmilitary
  adjective
• premilitary
  adjective
• promilitary
  adjective
• pseudomilitary
  adjective
• quasi-military
  adjective
• supermilitary
  adjective
• unmilitary
  adjective
• militarily
  adverb
• pseudomilitarily
  adverb
• unmilitarily
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• militaries
  plural
• military
  plural

Etymology

Origin of military

1575–85; < Latin mīlitāri ( s ), equivalent to mīlit- (stem of mīles ) soldier + -āris -ary

Explanation

Ten, hut! So you'd like the definition of military? Yes, Sir! The adjective military is used to describe anything related to the armed forces or soldiers. Stemming from the Latin word for "soldier," military is a word that goes hand in hand with war. It's the military that protects a country's interests, lead by generals and powered by brave soldiers. When used as an adjective, military describes anything that's related to, well, the military: salutes, campaigns, uniforms, etc.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

military militaries

The US said it had targeted Iranian weapons and military sites.

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Seoul has confirmed plans for Samsung and SK hynix to invest a combined 800 trillion won in building four advanced semiconductor fabrication plants at a former military airport site in Gwangju.

From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026

Replenishing munitions stockpiles and increasing shipbuilding capacity are top Trump administration priorities, and have been pain points for the U.S. military.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

BTS’ comeback album “Arirang,” its first after the band members’ mandatory South Korean military service, was widely expected to compete for the award.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

The hope is that opposing military forces will peacefully occupy the area, since there is no reason to fight.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The companies have "long-standing ties to western governments and militaries", the paper explains.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Australia and Fiji said other Pacific countries with militaries can join the alliance.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

While money numbers rise and arms contracts pile up, European militaries still lack vital capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Now, with tens of billions of new dollars pouring into the continent’s militaries, the problem is how to quickly turn that money into potent weapons and more capable armed forces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Its role is ballooning across all the less-visceral chores that militaries tackle, particularly in giving priority to intelligence for selecting targets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Related Words

• army
• force
• navy
• service
• troop