pentagon

1 of 2

noun (1)

pen·​ta·​gon ˈpen-tə-ˌgän How to pronounce pentagon (audio)
: a polygon of five angles and five sides

Pentagon

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the U.S. military leadership

Examples of pentagon in a Sentence

Noun (1) The general attended a meeting at the Pentagon. There was disagreement between the President and the Pentagon over the new military budget.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Conservative conspiracy theories swirled last year that Swift was part of a Pentagon plot fueled by Democrats to sway the 2024 election. Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025 Pentagon leadership has expressed concerns about losing access to military bandwidth, while telecom industry analysts have grown concerned that companies are overextending themselves in the gold rush. Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Noun
The use of the system near the city came before the FAA and Pentagon met to review potential impacts and mitigation measures. Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 27 Feb. 2026 Pentagon officials are also considering invoking the Defense Production Act to make Anthropic adhere to what the military is seeking, which is full control of its AI technology for use in military operations, sources told CBS News. Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for pentagon

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Greek pentagōnon, from neuter of pentagōnos pentagonal, from penta- + gōnia angle — more at -gon

Noun (2)

the Pentagon building, headquarters of the Department of Defense

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1570, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pentagon was in 1570

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pentagon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pentagon. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.

Kids Definition

pentagon

noun
pen·​ta·​gon ˈpent-ə-ˌgän How to pronounce pentagon (audio)
: a polygon of five angles and five sides

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