pentagon

1 of 2

noun (1)

pen·​ta·​gon ˈpen-tə-ˌgän How to pronounce pentagon (audio)
: a polygon of five angles and five sides

Pentagon

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the U.S. military leadership

Examples of pentagon in a Sentence

Noun (1) The general attended a meeting at the Pentagon. There was disagreement between the President and the Pentagon over the new military budget.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Conservative conspiracy theories swirled last year that Swift was part of a Pentagon plot fueled by Democrats to sway the 2024 election. Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2025 Pentagon leadership has expressed concerns about losing access to military bandwidth, while telecom industry analysts have grown concerned that companies are overextending themselves in the gold rush. Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Noun
Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson didn’t directly criticize the pro-LGBTQ series, but replied to an inquiry about the show from Entertainment Weekly with a statement condemning the streamer’s programming in general. James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025 Reporters refuse Pentagon power play From a purely media standpoint, the biggest story occurred when reporters covering the Pentagon turned in their credentials and left the building, rather than go along with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s new access policy that restricts their work. Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 17 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for pentagon

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Greek pentagōnon, from neuter of pentagōnos pentagonal, from penta- + gōnia angle — more at -gon

Noun (2)

the Pentagon building, headquarters of the Department of Defense

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1570, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1945, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pentagon was in 1570

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pentagon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pentagon. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

pentagon

noun
pen·​ta·​gon ˈpent-ə-ˌgän How to pronounce pentagon (audio)
: a polygon of five angles and five sides

More from Merriam-Webster on pentagon

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