army

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. troops, soldiers, [military] force; host, crowd, throng. See combatant, multitude.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

Syn. military, regimental, combat, land, air, ground, commando, veteran, guerrilla, fighting, militant, belligerent, martial, regimented, under arms, in the army, under orders, drafted, volunteered, in service, serving one's country; see also military .

n.

1. [Military land forces]

Syn. armed force, standing army, regulars, soldiery, soldiers, troops, men, cavalry, force de frappe (French), infantry, artillery, land forces, reserves, militia, the military; see also air force , artillery 2 , infantry .

2. [A unit of an army, sense 1]

Syn. division, regiment, air mobile division, armored division, airborne division, infantry division, regiment, battalion, company, battery, corps, brigade, flight, wing, amphibious force, task force, detail, detachment, squad, troop, platoon, blocking force, patrol, unit, command, formation, point, squadron, maniple, cohort, decury, column, legion, platoon, outfit.

3. [Any large group]

Syn. host, throng, multitude; see crowd 1 .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) n.

1. horde legion, mass, multitude, throng, swarm.

2. armed forces troops, infantry, soldiers, division, battalion, ground forces. ''A body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats.''—Josephus Daniels.

WORD FIND

• absent without leave: AWOL

• bursts from antiaircraft guns: flak

• clandestine movement: ratline

• collective term for ammo, guns, explosives: ordnance

• combat fatigue: shell shock

• discharge for physical or mental problem: section eight

• drab camp uniform: fatigues

• eating facility: mess

• emergency call-up troops: reserves

• enemy ground to be won: bridgehead

• enemy role during NATO exercise: orange forces

• finishing off defeated enemy: mopping up

• form up and come to attention: fall in

• fortification, small, of concrete or sandbags: pillbox

• friendly role during NATO exercise: blue forces

• hiding material: camouflage

• i.d. piece on chain: dogtag

• infantryman, slang: grunt

• items: materiel

• jeep: hum-vee

• kilometer, slang: click

• largest unit: army group

• liberty that ends at midnight: Cinderella liberty

• lowest grade soldier: buck private

• medal for wounds received: Purple Heart

• mess hall duty: K.P. (kitchen police)

• military store: PX, post exchange

• missing in action: MIA

• movement of troops: deployment multilanguage message to return captured

• soldier, with reward: blood chit

• negotiator sent behind enemy lines: parlimentaire

• passing safely through minefield: breaching

• phonetic alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, Xray, Yankee, Zulu.

• ranks, in ascending order: (enlisted men) Private E-1, Private E-2, Private FirstClass E-3; (noncommissioned officers) Corporal E-4, Sergeant E-5, Staff Sergeant E-6, Platoon Sergeant E-7, Master Sergeant E-8, First Sergeant E-8, Sergeant Major E-9, Command Major Sergeant E-9, Sergeant Major of the Army E-9; (warrant officers) Warrant Officer, grade one; Chief Warrant Officer, grade two; Chief Warrant Officer, grade three; Chief Warrant Officer, grade four; (commissioned officers) Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General, Major General, Lieutenant General, Four Star General, Five Star General of the Army

• recruit training facility: boot camp

• request for fire: call for fire, all available

• shelter, lodging: billet, barracks

• shield from enemy: defilade

• shore foothold: beachhead

• simultaneous fire at target from multiple guns: salvo

• subdivision of a unit: echelon

• sweeping line of gunfire: enfilade

• tank, armored group: armored division

• temporary ammo storage: munitions dump

• trial for crime: court-martial

• unit separated from larger group: detachment

• units, in ascending order of size: unit (at least two soldiers), squad (10), platoon (4 squads), company (2 platoons), battalion (2 companies), group (2 battalions), brigade (2 groups), division (3 brigades), corps (2 divisions), field army (2 corps)

• vulnerable troops at high risk: cannon fodder

see air force, ammunition, bomb, bullet, gun, marines, navy, nuclear bomb, war, weapon

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) noun A very large number of things grouped together: cloud, crowd, drove, flock, horde, host, legion, mass, mob, multitude, ruck1, score (used in plural), swarm, throng. See BIG, GROUP.