armed forces

plural noun

: the combined military, naval, and air forces of a nation

called also armed services

Synonyms of armed forces

• troops
• soldiers

Examples of armed forces in a Sentence

our nation's armed forces are stationed throughout the world

Recent Examples on the Web

Russia’s Unmanned Systems Forces, a drone-and-robotics branch of the Russian armed forces, was established last year to help institutionalize this cycle. — Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 16 Oct. 2026

Modern armed forces increasingly require affordable platforms that can be adapted to changing missions and integrated into wider command-and-control networks. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026

Star baseball players like Ted Williams left the sport in the middle of their careers to join the armed forces in World War II. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026

Russia’s constant attacks on factories, energy supply systems and the railways means that steel supply to the Ukrainian armed forces is also being degraded. — Kamal Ahmed, Fortune, 12 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1572, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for armed forces

• reinforces
• watercourses
• courses
• horses
• sources
• discourses
• divorces
• endorses
• enforces
• indorses
• racehorses
• workforces

Kids Definition

armed forces

plural noun

: the military, naval, and air forces of a nation