army
/ˈɑːmi
/noun (plural armies)
1 [treated as singular or plural] An organized military force equipped for fighting on land: the two armies were in position [as modifier]: army officers...
- Camp followers shared the military fortunes of the armies they accompanied.
- All the village men were fighting alongside the two armies, the Corbett army having come to join in.
- Only the Utuku, of all the peoples known to me in the world, equip and organize their armies in that manner.
Synonyms
armed force, fighting force, defence force, military force, the military, land force, soldiery, infantry, militia, horde;
troops, soldiers, land forces
informal, dated thin red line
archaic host
1.1 (the army) The part of a country’s military force trained to fight on land: he joined the army at 16...
- Now is the time to train as a nurse, join the army or make yourself indispensable to the government in some other way.
- His work in Cambridge was interrupted by World War I when he worked on the land rather than join the army.
- And he declared that he would want to fight alongside his men if he joined the army.
2 (an army of/armies of) A large number of people or things: an army of photographers...
- He is now attracting an army of fans, and keeps winning every time he steps up to a new racing division.
- It has an army of loyal fans which consider the GTi to be the most fun you can have on four wheels.
- The international gambling industry has hired an army of lobbyists to stack the odds in its favour.
Synonyms
crowd, swarm, multitude, horde, host, mob, gang, throng, stream, mass, body, band, troop, legion, flock, herd, pack, drove, sea, array
literary myriad
Phrases
you and whose army?
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French armee, from armata, feminine past participle of Latin armare 'to arm'.