army

army — noun

1. the branch of a country's military whose soldiers fight battles on the ground, u

1.nounB1
Definition

the branch of a country's military whose soldiers fight battles on the ground, using vehicles like tanks and equipment such as rifles.

Example

Ravi joined the army at eighteen and trained as a tank driver in Texas.

join the army for enlisting

The Indian army moved tanks and trucks toward the snowy mountain border last week.

national modifier: the [country] army

Common collocations
  • join the army
  • serve in the army
  • the British/US/Indian army
  • leave the army
Synonyms
  • military

    broader; covers army, navy, and air force together

  • armed forces

    formal, plural; the full set of military branches

  • ground forces

    technical; emphasises the land-fighting role

Antonyms
  • navy

    the branch that fights at sea, not on land

  • air force

    the branch that fights from the air

Grammar Patterns

the + Army (proper noun)

join the army

Usage Note

Often capitalised as 'the Army' when naming a specific country's force (e.g. 'the British Army'). Distinguish from sense 2: this sense names the whole institution; sense 2 names any military group of fighters.

Common Mistakes

My brother joined to the army last year.
My brother joined the army last year.
'join' takes a direct object; no preposition before 'the army'.

2. a specific group of soldiers organised under one command — historical, rebel, mo

2.nounB1
Definition

a specific group of soldiers organised under one command — historical, rebel, modern, or imaginary — that you can count and name (one army, two armies, the rebel army).

Example

An army of fifty thousand Roman soldiers marched slowly across the dry plain.

an army of [number] [people]

The rebel army captured two small towns near the river before sunset.

modifier + army for type

Common collocations
  • a rebel army
  • lead an army
  • an army of [number]
  • two armies clashed
Synonyms
  • force

    more general; can be smaller or non-fighting

  • troops

    plural only; refers to the soldiers themselves, not the whole organised body

  • legion

    historical; a Roman army unit, or used poetically for a large army

Grammar Patterns

an army of [size/origin]

Usage Note

Use this sense for any specific fighting force in any time or place — historical (Roman, Napoleon's), modern, or imaginary. Sense 1 names a country's permanent institution; this sense counts groups of fighters (you can have two armies on a battlefield, but a country has one army).

Common Mistakes

A army of soldiers crossed the river.
An army of soldiers crossed the river.
use 'an' before a vowel sound.

3. a very big group of people (or sometimes animals or things) who are all doing th

3.nounC2
Definition

a very big group of people (or sometimes animals or things) who are all doing the same task or working toward the same goal — for example, an army of volunteers cleaning a beach, or an army of ants on the kitchen floor.

Example

An army of volunteers spent the weekend picking up plastic bottles along the beach in Kenting.

an army of + helpers/workers

An army of ants was carrying breadcrumbs across the kitchen counter.

metaphor: an army of [insects/animals]

Common collocations
  • an army of volunteers
  • an army of fans
  • an army of workers
  • a whole army of
Synonyms
  • crowd

    large group of people in one place; less sense of shared task

  • host

    literary; a great number of

  • swarm

    suggests insects or fast, busy movement

  • horde

    often negative; a large, noisy, or unwelcome group

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

an army of + plural noun

Usage Note

Almost always 'an army of + plural noun'. The image is one of large numbers plus shared purpose; without that shared purpose, prefer 'a crowd of' or 'lots of'. Distinguish from sense 4, which is specific to football supporters.

Common Mistakes

There was an army of noise at the concert.
There was a wall of noise at the concert.
'army' counts people or living things with a shared task, not abstract nouns.

4. the loyal fans of a football club, especially the ones who follow their team to

4.nounC1
Definition

the loyal fans of a football club, especially the ones who follow their team to away matches in other cities or countries.

Example

The Tartan Army filled the streets of Madrid before Scotland's match on Saturday night.

named fan group: the Tartan Army

Liverpool's away army sang loudly in the rain for the full ninety minutes.

[team]'s army for travelling fans

Common collocations
  • the Tartan Army
  • the away army
  • a travelling army
  • a loyal army
Synonyms
  • supporters

    neutral; the standard word for fans of a team

  • following

    the whole group of loyal fans behind a team

  • faithful

    the most devoted core of supporters

Grammar Patterns

[team name] + army

the + team + army

Usage Note

Mostly British English and football journalism. Often part of a fixed nickname for a team's supporters (the Tartan Army for Scotland, the Barmy Army for English cricket). Distinguish from sense 3: that sense is general (an army of volunteers); this sense is tied to football crowds.

Common Mistakes

A Liverpool's army travelled to Madrid.
Liverpool's army travelled to Madrid.
possessive ['s] already makes it definite; no extra 'a'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words refer to organised fighting groups, but they sit at different scopes. 'Army' is the narrowest of the institutional terms — it names the land branch only, not the navy or air force. 'Military' is the broadest single word and can describe the whole defence system of a country, including civilian defence officials. 'Armed forces' is the formal plural cover term for army, navy, and air force together; it is common in newspapers and government writing. 'Troops' is different again — it does not name an institution at all, but counts the actual soldiers ('two hundred troops were sent'). So you 'join the army', the country has 'armed forces', a politician talks about 'the military', and reporters count 'troops on the ground'.

army ↗military ↗armed forcestroops

Common collocations

Nouns

  • army officer
  • army base
  • army uniform
  • army general

Phrases

  • join the army
  • serve in the army
  • leave the army
  • an army of [people]

Prepositions

  • in the army
  • into the army
  • out of the army

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

English borrowed 'army' in the late 1300s from Old French 'armee', which came from Medieval Latin 'armata', meaning 'an armed force'. The Latin form is the past participle of 'armare' ('to arm'), built on 'arma' ('weapons'). The word originally covered any armed group, including fleets at sea; the modern narrower meaning ('land force only') only settled into place after navies grew into separate institutions in the 1600s and 1700s. The figurative use ('an army of helpers') has been recorded in English since at least the 1500s.