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

Most importantly, some workers coordinated with the French Resistance on D-Day, sabotaging trains to prevent German armaments from reaching the Normandy beaches and fighting off the Allies. —Sarah Federman, The Conversation, 16 Apr. 2025

Many Russian collectors are now unable to spend money as freely in the West; at the same time, the war has minted a whole new class of nouveaux riches, especially in armaments, plastic and textile manufacturing, real estate, and construction. —Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2025

The namesake launched in 1906 was the first of the modern battleships that revolutionized navy ship design and armaments that saw all the world's major navies replaced within a decade. —David Szondy, New Atlas, 23 Mar. 2025

In one report broadcast on Israel’s Channel 12, Israeli soldiers can be seen working hand in hand with Syrian villagers to collect boxes of artillery rounds, automatic weapons, grenade launchers and other armaments. —Uriel Heilman, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2025

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