army
- 01 A2 Elementary
a large, organized group of soldiers who are trained to fight on land.
a large, highly organized military force primarily concerned with ground operations.
Simple“The army marched for three days before reaching the border.”
In context“The national army was deployed to the flooded regions to assist with emergency evacuations and provide medical supplies to stranded residents.”
UsageUsually takes a singular verb in American English and can take either a singular or plural verb in British English.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
a very large group of people who are organized for a specific purpose.
a large multitude of people organized for a common goal or task.
Simple“An army of volunteers arrived to help clean up the park after the festival.”
In context“The tech company hired an army of lawyers to protect its patents against international competitors.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'of'.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
a large group of social animals, like ants, that move or work together.
a large, organized group of social animals, typically insects, acting in concert.
Simple“We watched an army of ants carrying crumbs back to their nest.”
In context“The documentary followed an army of caterpillars as they stripped the leaves from an entire grove of trees within days.”
- 04 B1 Intermediate
the name for the global group of fans of the K-pop band BTS.
The collective fandom of the South Korean boy band BTS. Often capitalized as 'ARMY'.
Simple“The BTS Army helped the song reach number one on the charts.”
In context“The sheer digital presence of the Army ensures that any project associated with the band receives immediate global visibility.”
Teacher's tipWhile originally slang, this term is now widely recognized in mainstream media when discussing pop culture.
Synonymsfandomfanbase
Usage army exposing
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)rmosder. Latin arma Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin armō ▲ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Latin armātus Anglo-Norman armeebor. Middle English armee English army From (1386) Middle English armee, borrowed from Old French armee (cf. modern French armée), from Medieval Latin armāta (“armed force”), a noun taken from the past participle of Latin armāre (“to arm”), itself related to arma (“tools, arms”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to join, fit together”). Doublet of armada. Displaced native Old English here and fierd.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.