Wehrmacht

[ vair-mahkht; German veyr-mahkht ]

/ ˈvɛərˌmɑxt; German ˈveɪrˌmɑxt /

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noun

the German armed forces of the years prior to and during World War II.

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Origin of Wehrmacht

<German, equivalent to Wehr defense + Macht force

Words nearby Wehrmacht

weft knitting, weftwise, Wegener, We have met the enemy, and they are ours, We have met the enemy, and they are us, Wehrmacht, Wei, Weichsel, Weidman, Weierstrass, Weierstrass approximation theorem

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Wehrmacht in a sentence

The same could not be said for the 100,000 Wehrmacht troops killed, wounded, or captured.
Hitler’s Hail Mary|James A. Warren|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A wavering, but canny Wehrmacht General Dietrich von Choltitz finally surrendered it on August 25.
Who Liberated Paris in August 1944?||August 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The other was the much-decorated Wehrmacht officer Major Josef ‘Sepp’ Gangl, who died helping the Americans protect the VIPs.
World War II’s Strangest Battle: When Americans and Germans Fought Together|Andrew Roberts|May 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Wehrmacht had already lost the war against the Soviet Union by December 7, 1941, and the German high command knew it.
Rethink Everything You Think You Know About World War II|David Frum|February 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST

A lot of Rivers's, and everybody else's who's been fooling with it around here, and half the Wehrmacht.
Murder in the Gunroom|Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

/ German (ˈveːrˌmaxt) /

noun

the armed services of the German Third Reich from 1935 to 1945

Word Origin for Wehrmacht

from Wehr defence + Macht 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