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

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency also reported earlier the nation’s armed forces monitored a US destroyer seen moving from Fujairah toward the Strait of Hormuz and conveyed this to the US via Pakistani mediators. —Angela Cullen, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2026

Iran said safe passage through the strait would be possible but subject to coordination with its armed forces. —Anniek Bao, CNBC, 9 Apr. 2026

The idea that the Revolutionary Guard and Iranian armed forces should surrender their weapons in return for immunity is equally free of any objective correlative. —Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 9 Apr. 2026

Chien Kongkham opened Thai Taste in 1988, in the former office of an armed forces recruiter. —Timothy Depeugh, Charlotte Observer, 8 Apr. 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