armed forces

plural noun

|Updated on: 24 Jul 2018

Definition of armed forces

: the combined military, naval, and air forces of a nation — called also armed services

Recent Examples of armed forces from the Web

America spends more than 3% of the world’s biggest GDP on its armed forces, and the rest of the Western world scarcely breaks 2%.

— tony abbott, WSJ, "An Ally Sizes Up Donald Trump," 13 July 2018
Mr Sharif’s return snuffs out any hope of a reconciliation between the PML-N and the armed forces.

— The Economist, "Pakistan’s former prime minister embraces jail to rally his party," 12 July 2018
Military officers decided a few months ago to place trucks from the armed forces along main routes to help passengers move around for free.

— gustavo ocando alex, miamiherald, "With little public transportation, Venezuelans resort to dangerous, illegal ‘kennels’ to get around," 12 July 2018
Members of the armed forces must be eligible for and able to complete four additional years of service in order to have their transfer approved.

— andrew dyer, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Pentagon announces changes to Post-9/11 GI Bill," 12 July 2018
The event is sponsored by True Patriots Care, a local organization that recognizes and supports first responders and members of the armed forces.

— michelle mullins, Elgin Courier-News, "Elgin News Digest: Dueling Pianos to perform in East Dundee, Purple Heart Day barbecue set for Aug. 4, Fox River library board candidates sought, more," 6 July 2018
The minds of visitors from the aerospace industry and the armed forces, though, will mostly be on the future—and in particular what sort of aircraft will follow the F-35.

— The Economist, "Tomorrow’s squadron leaders will be accompanied by drones," 5 July 2018
But for the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, the jarring noises can trigger symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

— andrew craft, Fox News, "Fourth of July fireworks trigger PTSD symptoms in veterans," 4 July 2018
Of course there are less hawkish voices who question the entire premise of needing to spend billions on a large-scale armed forces.

— alexander smith /, NBC News, "Calls to boost military spending add to U.K.'s growing sense of unease," 1 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'armed forces.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.