army

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ar·my

(är′mē)

n. pl. ar·mies

a. A large body of people organized and trained for land warfare.

b. often Army The entire military land forces of a country.

c. A tactical and administrative military unit consisting of a headquarters, two or more corps, and auxiliary forces.

2. A large group of people or things, especially when organized for a specific cause or purpose: the construction army that built the Panama Canal; a banquet with an army of waiters. See Synonyms at multitude.

[Middle English armee, from Old French, from Medieval Latin armāta, from Latin, feminine past participle of armāre, to arm, from arma, arms; see ar- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

army

(ˈɑːmɪ)

n, pl -mies

1. (Military) the military land forces of a nation

2. (Military) a military unit usually consisting of two or more corps with supporting arms and services

3. (Military) (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of an army: army rations.

4. any large body of people united for some specific purpose

5. a large number of people, animals, etc; multitude

[C14: from Old French armee, from Medieval Latin armāta armed forces; see armada]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ar•my

(ˈɑr mi)

n., pl. -mies.

1. the military forces of a nation, exclusive of the navy and in some countries the air force.

2. a military unit comprising two or more corps and a headquarters.

3. a large body of persons trained and armed for war.

4. any organized or large group.

[1350–1400; Middle English armee < Middle French < Vulgar Latin *armāta. See arm², -ade¹]

army

1. A formation larger than an army corps but smaller than an army group. It usually consists of two or more army corps.
2. In certain nations "army" is the land component of the armed forces.
3. In certain nations "armee" covers all the armed forces.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

Army, Armies

a collection of men armed for battle; a naval armament, armada, or fleet; a great number of something. See also array, force, host, multitude, troop.

Examples: army of ants; of arguments; of caterpillars, 1611; of idlers, 1855; of locusts, 1857; of lovely looks, 1596; of martyrs, 1543; of misfortunes, 1675; of people, 1500; of pestilence, 1593; naval army [manned with sailors and marines], 1751; sea army [sailors and marines], 1751; army of sins, 1751; of speeches wise, 1596; of waiters, c. 1890; of words, 1628; of good words.

Army

An army, like a snake, goes on its belly —Frederick the Great
Military intelligence has about as much to do with intelligence as military music has to do with music —John Le Carré
Soldiers in peace are like chimneys in summer —John Ray’s Proverbs
The word ‘chimneys’ has been modernized from ‘chimnies.’

army

An army is a large organized group of people who are armed and trained to fight. In British English, after army you can use either a singular or plural form of a verb.

The army is in a high state of readiness.

The army are clearing up quite a bit of the land.

In American English, the singular form of the verb is preferred.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	army - a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state ground forces, regular army legion, host - archaic terms for army army unit - a military unit that is part of an army armed service, military service, service - a force that is a branch of the armed forces armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" army corps, corps - an army unit usually consisting of two or more divisions and their support standing army - a permanent army of paid soldiers Union Army - the northern army during the American Civil War Army of the Confederacy, Confederate Army - the southern army during the American Civil War Continental Army - the American army during the American Revolution
	2.	army - a large number of people united for some specific purpose crowd - a large number of things or people considered together; "a crowd of insects assembled around the flowers"
	3.	Army - the army of the United States of America; the agency that organizes and trains soldiers for land warfare U. S. Army, United States Army, US Army, USA AHPCRC, Army High Performance Computing Research Center - a United States defense laboratory to conduct research in high-performance computing for defense technology applications; a partnership of government and university and industry Defense Department, Department of Defense, DoD, United States Department of Defense, Defense - the federal department responsible for safeguarding national security of the United States; created in 1947 CID, Criminal Investigation Command - the United States Army's principal law enforcement agency responsible for the conduct of criminal investigations for all levels of the Army anywhere in the world armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" Special Forces, U. S. Army Special Forces, United States Army Special Forces - a division of the United States Army that is specially trained for guerilla fighting bureau, federal agency, government agency, agency, office, authority - an administrative unit of government; "the Central Intelligence Agency"; "the Census Bureau"; "Office of Management and Budget"; "Tennessee Valley Authority" United States Army Rangers - a specially trained elite unit of the United States Army United States Military Academy, US Military Academy - a school for training men and women to become officers in the United States Army AI, Army Intelligence - an agency of the United States Army responsible for providing timely and relevant and accurate and synchronized intelligence to tactical and operational and strategic level commanders Army National Guard, ARNG - a civilian reserve component of the United States Army comprised of guardsmen who serve during overseas peacekeeping missions and during local emergencies

army

noun

1. soldiers, military, troops, armed force, legions, infantry, military force, land forces, land force, soldiery After returning from abroad, he joined the army.

2. vast number, host, gang, mob, flock, array, legion, swarm, sea, pack, horde, multitude, throng data collected by an army of volunteers

Proverbs
"An army marches on its stomach"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

army

noun

A very large number of things grouped together:

cloud, crowd, drove, flock, horde, host, legion, mass, mob, multitude, ruck, score (used in plural), swarm, throng.

Translations

جَيْشعَدَد كَبير مَن

armádadavy

hær

Armee Heer MilitärHeeresamt

στρατός

ejército multitud bandada

maavägi

armeijamaavoimat

armée foule

vojska

hadsereghonvédségsereg

herhersing

esercito esèrcito armata castrense

軍隊

군대

exercitus

leger menigte bende horde

armé hær hærskare

armia wojsko

exército

армия армейский воинство войско войсковой

vojskaarmada

armé

กองทัพ

ordu sürü kalabalık

quân đội

军队大群

army

[ˈɑːmɪ]

A. N

1. (Mil) → ejército m
to be in the army → ser militar
to join the army → alistarse

2. (fig) → ejército m, multitud f

B. CPD army chaplain N → capellán m castrense
army corps N → cuerpo m del ejército
army doctor N → médico/a m/f militar
army life N → vida f militar
Army list N → lista f de oficiales del ejército
army of occupation N → ejército m de ocupación
army slang N → argot m militar
army surplus N → excedentes mpl del ejército

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

army

[ˈɑː^rmi] n

(= military force) → armée f army officer

(fig) an army of sth → une armée de qcharmy base n → base f militairearmy officer n → officier m de l'armée de terreA road A-road [ˈeɪrəʊd] n (British) → route f nationale

army

→ Armee f, → Heer nt; army of occupation → Besatzungsarmee f; to be in the army → beim Militär sein; (Ger also) → bei der Bundeswehr sein; (Aus also) → beim Bundesheer sein; to join the army → zum Militär gehen

(fig) → Heer nt

(= division) → Armee (→ korps nt) f attr → Militär-; discipline → militärisch; army doctor → Militär- or Stabsarzt m → /-ärztin f; army life → Soldatenleben nt; army officer → Offizier(in) m(f) → in der Armee; an army type (inf) → einer vom Barras (inf) → or Bund (Ger inf)

army

army ant

n → Wanderameise f, → Treiberameise f

army-issue

adj → Armee-; army rifle → Armeegewehr nt

Army List

n (Brit) → Rangliste f

army-surplus

adj → Armee-, Army-; army store → Armee- or Armyladen m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

army

[ˈɑːmɪ] n (Mil) (fig) → esercito
to join the army → arruolarsi

armour

(American) armor (ˈaːmə) noun

1. formerly, a metal suit worn by knights etc as a protection while fighting. a suit of armour.

2. a metal covering to protect ships, tanks etc against damage from weapons.

ˈarmoured adjective

1. (of vehicles etc) protected by armour. an armoured car.

2. made up of armoured vehicles. an armoured division of an army.

ˈarmoury – plural ˈarmouries – noun

the place where weapons are made or kept.

army (ˈaːmi) – plural ˈarmies – noun

1. a large number of men armed and organized for war. The two armies met at dawn.

2. a large number (of people etc). an army of tourists.

army

→ جَيْش armáda hær Militär στρατός ejército armeija armée vojska esercito 軍隊 군대 leger hær armia exército армия armé กองทัพ ordu quân đội 军队

References in classic literature ?

To be able to crush it absolutely he awaited the arrival of the rest of the troops who were on their way from Vienna, and with this object offered a three days' truce on condition that both armies should remain in position without moving.

View in context

The disciplined armies always kept on foot on the continent of Europe, though they bear a malignant aspect to liberty and economy, have, notwithstanding, been productive of the signal advantage of rendering sudden conquests impracticable, and of preventing that rapid desolation which used to mark the progress of war prior to their introduction.

The institutions chiefly alluded to are STANDING ARMIES and the correspondent appendages of military establishments.

Small states, or states of less natural strength, under vigorous governments, and with the assistance of disciplined armies, have often triumphed over large states, or states of greater natural strength, which have been destitute of these advantages.

View in context

They had now appointed George Washington, of Virginia, to be commander-in-chief of all the American armies. He was, at that time, a member of Congress; but immediately left Philadelphia, and began his journey to Massachusetts.