armed forces

noun

The military forces of a nation, such as the army, navy, air force, marines, and sometimes, coastguard or border guard, which are tasked with the defence of the nation and its citizens, if necessary through use of deadly force.

Similar
militaryarmed servicesmilitary machinewar machine
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Meanings

nounarmed forces pl (normally plural, singular armed force)

singular armed force

  1. pluralplural normallyThe military forces of a nation, such as the army, navy, air force, marines, and sometimes, coastguard or border guard, which are tasked with the defence of the nation and its citizens, if necessary through use of deadly force.

    What dictators fear most is losing the support of the armed forces, and when this happens, it's as if a ferocious beast has lost its teeth.

    2020 September 23, Shi Chuan, “When Police Officers No Longer Work for Dictators”, in Minghui, archived from the original on 13 Nov 2021

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe military forces of a nation

Similar
militaryarmed servicesmilitary machinewar machine
Broader
forcepersonnel
Also see
militarywar machine

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Afrikaans weermag, gewapende magte
  • weermagthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • gewapende magtethe military forces of a nation — see also army
Arabic قُوَّات مُسَلَّحَة, قُوَّات
  • قُوَّات مُسَلَّحَة (quwwāt musallaḥa)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • قُوَّات (quwwāt)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • جَيْش (jayš)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Basque armada
  • armadathe military forces of a nation — see also army
Bengali সামরিক বাহিনী
  • সামরিক বাহিনী (śamrik bahini)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Bulgarian въоръже́ни си́ли, войски́
  • въоръже́ни си́ли (văorăžéni síli)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • войски́ (vojskí)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • а́рмия (ármija)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Catalan exèrcit, forces armades
  • exèrcitthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • forces armadesthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Chinese Mandarin 武裝部隊 /武装部队, 軍隊 /军队
  • 武裝部隊 /武装部队 (wǔzhuāng bùduì)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • 軍隊 /军队 (jūnduì)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Czech ozbrojené síly, vojsko
  • ozbrojené sílythe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • vojskothe military forces of a nation — see also army
Danish forsvar, væbnede styrker
  • forsvarthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • væbnede styrkerthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Dutch leger, krijgsmacht
  • legerthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • krijgsmachtthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • strijdmachtthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • strijdkrachtenthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • heerthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • heirthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • troepthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • troepenthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • armeethe military forces of a nation — see also army
Estonian relvajõud, sõjavägi
  • relvajõudthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • sõjavägithe military forces of a nation — see also army
Finnish asevoimat, sotavoimat
  • asevoimatthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • sotavoimatthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • puolustusvoimatthe military forces of a nation — see also army
French forces armées
  • forces arméesthe military forces of a nation — see also army
German Streitkräfte, Streitmacht
  • Streitkräftethe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • Streitmachtthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • Armeethe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • Militärthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Greek στράτευμα, ένοπλες δυνάμεις
  • στράτευμα (strátevma)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • ένοπλες δυνάμεις (énoples dynámeis)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • στρατός (stratós)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Hebrew כּוֹחוֹת מְזֻיָּנִים \ כוחות מזוינים
  • כּוֹחוֹת מְזֻיָּנִים \ כוחות מזוינים (kokhót m'zuyyaním)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Hindi सेना, सैन्य
  • सेना (senā)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • सैन्य (sainya)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • सशस्त्र बल (saśastra bal)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • सशस्त्र सेनाएँ (saśastra senāẽ)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Hungarian fegyveres erők, haderő
  • fegyveres erőkthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • haderőthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • karhatalomthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Icelandic hersveitir
  • hersveitirthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Indonesian angkatan bersenjata, tentara
  • angkatan bersenjatathe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • tentarathe military forces of a nation — see also army
Irish fórsaí armtha
  • fórsaí armthathe military forces of a nation — see also army
Italian forze armate
  • forze armatethe military forces of a nation — see also army
Japanese 軍隊
  • 軍隊 (guntai)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Korean 군대
  • 군대 (gundae)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Latvian bruņotie spēki, armija
  • bruņotie spēkithe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • armijathe military forces of a nation — see also army
Lithuanian kariuomenė, ginkluotosios pajėgos
  • kariuomenėthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • ginkluotosios pajėgosthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Malay angkatan tentera, tentera
  • angkatan tenterathe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • tenterathe military forces of a nation — see also army
Norwegian Bokmål væpnede styrker, krigsmakt
  • væpnede styrkerthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • krigsmaktthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Polish siły zbrojne, wojsko
  • siły zbrojnethe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • wojskothe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • armiathe military forces of a nation — see also army
Portuguese forças armadas
  • forças armadasthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Romanian forțe armate
  • forțe armatethe military forces of a nation — see also army
Russian вооружённые си́лы, войска́
  • вооружённые си́лы (vooružónnyje síly)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • войска́ (vojská)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • а́рмия (ármija)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Slovak ozbrojené sily, vojsko
  • ozbrojené silythe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • vojskothe military forces of a nation — see also army
Spanish fuerzas armadas, fuerzas militares
  • fuerzas armadasthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • fuerzas militaresthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • fuerzas castrensesthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Swedish försvarsmakt, krigsmakt
  • försvarsmaktthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • krigsmaktthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • väpnade styrkorthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Tagalog hukbong-sandatahan, sandatahang-lakas
  • hukbong-sandatahanthe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • sandatahang-lakasthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Thai การทหาร, กองทัพ
  • การทหาร (gaan-tá-hǎan)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • กองทัพ (gɔɔng-táp)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • พลากร (pá-laa-gɔɔn)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Turkish silahlı kuvvetler
  • silahlı kuvvetlerthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Ukrainian збро́йні си́ли, ві́йсько
  • збро́йні си́ли (zbrójni sýly)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • ві́йсько (víjsʹko)the military forces of a nation — see also army
  • а́рмія (ármija)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Urdu مُسَلَّح اَفْواج
  • مُسَلَّح اَفْواج (musallah afvāj)the military forces of a nation — see also army
Vietnamese quân đội, lực lượng vũ trang
  • quân độithe military forces of a nation — see also army
  • lực lượng vũ trangthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Welsh lluoedd arfog
  • lluoedd arfogthe military forces of a nation — see also army
Cite this entry
APA

armed forces. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/armed%20forces

MLA

“armed forces.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/armed%20forces. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “armed forces,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/armed%20forces.

Source: armed forces on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.