armament

noun

ar·​ma·​ment ˈär-mə-mənt 

also ˈärm-mənt

1

: a military or naval force

2

a

: the aggregate of a nation's military strength

b

: weapons, arms

3

: the process of preparing for war

Examples of armament in a Sentence

The country's armament will take years.

a small nation that is determined to have adequate armaments

Recent Examples on the Web

Within these broad categories there was a bewildering array of specific armaments. —Literary Hub, 15 Apr. 2026

Kim had also supervised two rounds of missile tests from the Choe Hyon last month while vowing to accelerate the nuclear armament of his navy. —ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026

The step supports the US Army’s robust artillery capability needs, and for the first time, ensures a second source producer of M776 cannons—the main armament for the M777 system used in critical operations across the globe. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 11 Apr. 2026

The earliest among the Islamic empires to use firepower were the Ottomans, a Turkish empire that soon gained expertise in producing gunpowder and armaments. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from French armement "action of arming, equipping of an armed force" (from armer "to arm entry 2" + -ment -ment), reshaped after Latin armāmenta (neuter plural) "sailing gear of a ship, equipment, implements," from armāre "to arm entry 2, equip" + -menta, plural of -mentum -ment

First Known Use

1632, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for armament

• disarmament
• rearmament

Kids Definition

armament

noun

ar·​ma·​ment ˈär-mə-mənt 

1

: the military strength and equipment of a nation

2

: a supply of war materials

3

: the process of preparing for war