standing army

noun

: a permanent army of paid soldiers

Examples of standing army in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web During the Cold War, the Soviet Union built one of the largest standing armies in the world, twice the size of the U.S. military. Sarah A. Topol, New York Times, 20 Sep. 2024 On the other hand, the Democratic-Republicans’ vision for the nation was based on the yeoman farmer with limited federal government and no standing army. Lindsay M. Chervinsky / Made By History, TIME, 19 Sep. 2024 Unlike large standing armies, drones that are being held in reserve do not take up a lot of space, do not need to be fed, and are not drawing salaries. Lorenz Meier, TIME, 13 Aug. 2024 In the years leading up to Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine, whose territory had been the major defensive line between the Soviets and the West during the Cold War, had abolished the draft, and its standing army had shrunk to tiny levels. Nataliya Gumenyuk, Foreign Affairs, 19 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for standing army 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'standing army.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of standing army was in 1603

Dictionary Entries Near standing army

Cite this Entry

“Standing army.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standing%20army. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on standing army

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!