army

noun

ar·​my ˈär-mē 

plural armies

1

a

: a large organized body of armed personnel trained for war especially on land

b

: a unit capable of independent action and consisting usually of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary troops

c

often capitalized : the complete military organization of a nation for land warfare

2

: a great multitude

an army of birds

3

: a body of persons organized to advance a cause

Synonyms

• array
• battalion
• host
• legion

Examples of army in a Sentence

the armies of Alexander the Great

He left home and joined the army after he graduated from high school.

The company employs an army of lawyers to handle its legal affairs.

They sent in a whole army of trained technicians.

The organization was founded by a dedicated army of volunteers.

Recent Examples on the Web

Although your empire will keep all of its settlements and Commanders – a new unit type that can be level up and used to move an entire stack of units easily – during an Age Transition, a part of your army gets deleted. —David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025

Flanked by an army of rodeo clowns and seated on a massive pink horse, Roan (in custom Steve Madden cowboy boots and plenty of fringe) belted out her first single as the crowd (led by Janelle Monáe) sang along. —Lauren Coates, Variety, 3 Feb. 2025

Last week, pro-Hezbollah Shiite residents of southern Lebanon defied Israeli army orders and sought to storm into their villages. —Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 3 Feb. 2025

The staff member, a West Point graduate and an army veteran, was appointed to the employment, engagement and diversity and inclusion council formed under Mr. Trump’s previous administration by his political appointees, Kimberly Richey and Kenneth Marcus. —Erica L. Green, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English armee, armye "host of armed men, naval fleet, military expedition," borrowed from Anglo-French armé, armee, from armer "to arm entry 2" + -ee, suffix of action or result (going back to Vulgar Latin *-āta, noun derivative from feminine of Latin -ātus, past participle ending of Latin first-conjugation verbs)

Note: Compare Spanish armada "military force, fleet of warships"—see armada.

First Known Use

circa 1522, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing army

• army ant
• general of the army
• sergeant major of the army
• standing army

Kids Definition

army

noun

ar·​my ˈär-mē 

plural armies

1

a

: a large body of men and women organized for land warfare

b

often capitalized : the complete military organization of a nation for land warfare

2

: a great number of persons or things

3

: a body of persons organized to promote an idea

Etymology

Middle English armee "army," from early French armee (same meaning), derived from Latin arma "weapons"