Phrase guide

standing army

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A professional permanent army composed of full-time career soldiers, and not disbanded during times of peace.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a permanent army of paid soldiers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: army, regular army, ground forces

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 常備軍 /常备军 (chángbèijūn) — professional permanent army
  • Dutch: staand leger — professional permanent army
  • French: armée de métier — professional permanent army
  • German: stehendes Heer — professional permanent army
  • German: Berufsheer — professional permanent army
  • Italian: esercito permanente — professional permanent army
  • Maltese: dejma — professional permanent army
  • Romanian: armată permanentă — professional permanent army