Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for armed forces. Search instead for warmed normal.
Synonyms

armed forces

American  

plural noun

  1. military, naval, and air forces, especially of a nation or of a number of nations.

armed forces British  

plural noun

  1. the military forces of a nation or nations, including the army, navy, air force, marines, etc

"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

Etymology

Origin of armed forces

First recorded in 1685–95

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 relevant piece of US law, the decades-old War Powers Resolution, makes certain requirements of a president "within sixty calendar days" of their use of US armed forces in combat.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

Little has been heard from the 80-year-old Nobel laureate since she was arrested on the day the armed forces ousted her elected government more than five years ago.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

U.S. armed forces were ready for “any eventualities.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

The image evoked dominance at sea, as Iran's armed forces continue a blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas in peacetime.

From Barron's • Apr. 22, 2026

In Jan Scruggs’s conservative family, he’d been taught it was his duty as a citizen to serve in the armed forces.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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.