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

Washington has also provided advanced armaments, including F-35A stealth fighter jets, to Seoul. —Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025

The ships would also incorporate heavy armament, especially long-range and hypersonic missiles. —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 26 Oct. 2025

Alfred Nobel’s vision of disarmament, by contrast, emphasizes the gradual reduction of armaments and the building of mutual trust between nations. —Nina Græger, Time, 9 Oct. 2025

Proposition 50 is California’s armament in a redistricting war that has stormed into at least three states and threatens to spread to others. —Nicole Nixon, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 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