I. mil ‧ i ‧ ta ‧ ry 1 S2 W1 AC /ˈmɪlət ə ri, ˈmɪlɪt ə ri $ -teri/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ militancy , ↑ militant , the military, ↑ militia , ↑ militarism , ↑ militarist ; adjective : ↑ military , ↑ militant , ↑ militaristic , ↑ militarized ; adverb : ↑ militantly , ↑ militarily ]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: French ; Origin: militaire , from Latin militaris , from miles 'soldier' ]
1 . used by, involving, or relating to the army, navy, or air force:
a military helicopter
military equipment
The government has threatened to take military action if the rebels do not withdraw from the area.
The United States is prepared to use military force to achieve its aims.
a raid by European military forces (=the army, navy, or air force)
2 . with military precision if you do something with military precision, you do it in a very organized and exact way:
The trips are planned with military precision.
—militarily adverb :
Europe may have to intervene militarily if the crisis worsens.
II. military 2 AC BrE AmE noun
the military [ also + plural verb British English ] the military forces of a country SYN the forces :
He was never tempted to join the military.
in the military
My brother is in the military.
The military were sent in to break up the demonstration.