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

The spirit, first distilled in the 17th century in the Netherlands, is a veritable Swiss army knife for making cocktails. —Hudson Lindenberger, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025

Also Thursday, findings from an investigation by the Israeli military determined that Hamas was able to carry out the deadliest attack in Israeli history on Oct. 7, 2023, because the much more powerful Israeli army misjudged the militant group's intentions and underestimated its capabilities. —Mohammad Jahjouh, Wafaa Shurafa, Natalie Melzer and Tia Goldenberg The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 28 Feb. 2025

The Israeli army can deal with both being out of Gaza and giving up control of Philadelphi, according to Halevi. —Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 27 Feb. 2025

Giolito, who's working his way back from a serious army injury, is set to hit free agency next offseason. —Dakota Randall, Newsweek, 27 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"