order of battle

noun phrase

1
: the disposition of troops or ships ready for combat
2
: a tabular compilation of units, commanders, equipment, and their locations in a theater of operation

Examples of order of battle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Indian military, however, does not need to replace its entire order of battle with new planes, tanks, and ships. Arzan Tarapore, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2023 All that is to say, 14—now 13—Challenger 2s amount to a rounding error in Ukraine’s order of battle. David Axe, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024 That won't necessarily be the order of battle for those latter two latter films out in Hollywood on March 10. Guy Martin, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 Ukraine’s army will be deleted from the West’s order of battle. Robert Zubrin, National Review, 12 Jan. 2024 Tank crews unable to maneuver away from threats often abandon immobile tanks, removing them from the enemy order of battle entirely. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 5 Sep. 2023 In Kyiv’s order of battle, air-assault troops don’t actually travel by helicopter or airplane very often. David Axe, Forbes, 3 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'order of battle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of order of battle was in 1608

Dictionary Entries Near order of battle

Cite this Entry

“Order of battle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/order%20of%20battle. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!