deployment

noun

de·​ploy·​ment di-ˈplȯi-mənt How to pronounce deployment (audio)
plural deployments
: the act or movement of deploying or the state of being deployed: such as
a
: placement or arrangement (as of military personnel or equipment) in position for a particular use or purpose
deployment of troops
deployment of a sales force
U.S. military assistance for hurricane relief efforts has delayed the deployment of additional forces to Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday.Reuters
… memories of the peace protests that in the 1980s greeted the deployment of nuclear-armed cruise missiles on Greenham Common in Berkshire.Tim Luckhurst
also : an instance of such placement (as in a battle zone) for a period of time
On breaks from his job as a guard at the prison Camp Bucca, Iraq … during his last deployment, in 2007, James would retreat to the camp's sand-swept outdoor court and try to perfect his shot. Kelli Anderson
b
: an instance of use that involves something opening and spreading out
a pilot's deployment of a parachute after ejecting from the cockpit
These components work together to fully deploy the air bag within 50 milliseconds of impact. After deployment, the air bag will deflate in approximately 100 milliseconds.Martin W. Stockel et al.

Examples of deployment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Certainly, the prospect of U.S. deployments to Ukraine amid a shooting war with Russia ups the ante. Noah Rothman, National Review, 14 Feb. 2025 Meanwhile, the most recent deployment to the border took place this week as 500 Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, New York, arrived at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to establish a coordinating headquarters for the border mission. Luis Martinez, ABC News, 14 Feb. 2025 Open-source local deployment Another attractive factor for businesses is that DeepSeek’s models are open-source, allowing individuals and companies to download and customize it. Evelyn Cheng,bernice Ooi, CNBC, 13 Feb. 2025 Additionally, Trump’s executive order to stop the spend-down of the Inflation Reduction Action, a significant element of the Green New Deal (or, as Trump styles it, the Green New Scam), will halt federal investment in green technology deployment. Michaela Rychetska and Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 13 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for deployment

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French déploiement, from déployer "to unfurl, spread out, deploy" + -ment -ment

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of deployment was in 1781

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Cite this Entry

“Deployment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deployment. Accessed 1 Mar. 2025.

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