reverse arms

noun

A position of a soldier in which the weapon points downwards and backwards at an angle of 45° (while walking), or straight down (when at rest)

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounreverse arms (uncountable)
  1. uncountablegovernmentA position of a soldier in which the weapon points downwards and backwards at an angle of 45° (while walking), or straight down (when at rest)

    […] it is recorded that at the funeral for Marlborough in 1722, the troops carried out a formal reverse arms drill which was especially invented for the service; it was a unique sign of respect to the great soldier.

    2009, Christopher Jobson, Looking Forward Looking Back
Cite this entry
APA

reverse arms. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reverse%20arms

MLA

“reverse arms.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reverse%20arms. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “reverse arms,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/reverse%20arms.

Source: reverse arms on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.