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Military terms glossary page 3

Military terms explained in plain English. 707 words and meanings, most familiar first.

Word	Meaning
defect verb	To desert one's army, to flee from combat.
dixie noun	A large iron pot, used in the army.
windshield noun	A lightweight aerodynamic fairing mounted on the nose of an armor-piercing shell to reduce drag and increase range.
timber noun	The wooden stock of a rifle or shotgun.
casualty noun	A person in military service who becomes unavailable for duty, for any reason (notably death, injury, illness, capture, or desertion).
sap noun	A narrow ditch or trench made from the foremost parallel toward the glacis or covert way of a besieged place by digging under cover of gabions, etc.
extraction noun	An act of removing someone from a hostile area to a secure location.
suppress verb	To stop or prevent the enemy from executing unwanted activities like firing, regrouping, observation or others.
zap verb	To kill; to eliminate.
tactic noun	A maneuver used against an enemy.
observer noun	A crew member on an aircraft who makes observations of enemy positions or aircraft
stag noun	Guard duty.
stealth adjective	Having properties that diminish radar signatures.
gauge noun	A unit of measurement which describes how many spheres of bore diameter of a shotgun can be had from one pound of lead; 12 gauge is roughly equivalent to .75 caliber.
brigadier noun	An army rank; an officer commanding a brigade.
hedgehog verb	To make use of a hedgehog barricade as a defensive maneuver.
sterile adjective	Of weapons: foreign-made and untraceable to the United States.
scramble verb	To quickly deploy (vehicles, usually aircraft) to a destination in response to an alert, usually to intercept an attacking enemy.
summons noun	A demand for surrender.
greens noun	The green dress uniform of the United States Marine Corps.
aide noun	An officer who acts as assistant to a more senior one; an aide-de-camp.
banjo verb	To shell or attack (a target).
suspense noun	A deadline.
camouflage noun	The use of natural or artificial material on personnel, objects, or tactical positions with the aim of confusing, misleading, or evading the enemy.
infiltrate verb	To send (soldiers, spies, etc.) through gaps in the enemy line.
shrapnel noun	Shot, fragments, or debris thrown out by an exploding shell, bomb or landmine.
axis noun	An alliance or coalition.
rake verb	To fire upon an enemy vessel from a position in line with its bow or stern, causing one's fire to travel through the length of the enemy vessel for maximum damage.
orb noun	A body of soldiers drawn up in a circle, as for defence, especially infantry to repel cavalry.
cheeseburger noun	The BLU-82 bomb.
rocker noun	A curved line accompanying the chevrons that denote rank, qualifying the rank with a grade.
ploy verb	To form a column from a line of troops on some designated subdivision.
trooper noun	A soldier of private rank in cavalry or armour.
mortar noun	A relatively lightweight, often portable indirect fire weapon which transmits recoil to a base plate and is designed to lob explosive shells at very steep trajectories.
commodore noun	A naval officer holding a rank between captain and rear admiral.
gob noun	A sailor.
charger noun	A speed loader that holds several cartridges together in a single unit for easier loading of a firearm's magazine.
boomer noun	A nuclear ballistic missile submarine, SSBN.
lucrative adjective	Of a target: worth attacking; whose destruction is militarily useful.
tanker noun	Member of a tank crew, or of an armoured unit.
liberate verb	To acquire from an enemy during wartime, used especially of cities, regions, and other population centers.
picket noun	One of the soldiers or troops placed on a line forward of a position to warn against an enemy advance; or any unit (for example, an aircraft or ship) performing a similar function.
grinder noun	An outdoor space for drills and parades.
gorge noun	The rearward side of an outwork, a bastion, or a fort, often open, or not protected against artillery; a narrow entry passage into the outwork of an enclosed fortification.
pavilion noun	A flag, ensign, or banner.
limbo noun	A type of antisubmarine mortar installed on naval vessels.
battleship noun	A large capital warship displacing thousands to tens of thousands of tons, heavily armoured and armed with large-caliber guns; now obsolescent and replaced by smaller vessels with guided missiles.
aviation noun	Aircraft
muster noun	An assembling or review of troops, as for parade, verification of numbers, inspection, exercise, or introduction into service.
coy noun	A company
sleet noun	Part of a mortar extending from the chamber to the trunnions.
acoustic adjective	(of an explosive mine or other weapon) Able to be set off by sound waves.
deserter noun	A person who has physically removed him- or herself from the control or direction of a military or naval unit with the intention of permanently leaving
hardened adjective	Having extra defences against attack; highly fortified.
neutralize verb	To kill.
muzzle noun	The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet emerges from.
reload verb	To load a gun again; or recharge a used cartridge.
ringer noun	An officer having the specified number of rings (denoting rank) on the uniform sleeve.
guerrilla adjective	Relating to, using, or typical of guerrilla warfare, or its principles of small independent or non-official perpetrators.
reformed adjective	Retained in service on half or full pay after the disbandment of the company or troop.
detachment noun	The separation of a military unit from the main body for a particular purpose or special mission.
maverick noun	A person in the military who became an officer by going to college while on active duty as an enlisted person.
cannonball noun	A spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.
cartridge noun	The package consisting of the bullet, primer, and casing containing gunpowder; a round of ammunition.
recycle verb	To put (a person) through a course of training again.
nav noun	Navigation. Often used attributively, as in nav beacon.
stricken adjective	Having its name removed from a country's naval register, e.g. the United States Naval Vessel Register.
logistics noun	The procurement, supply, maintenance, and transportation of equipment, facilities, and personnel.
overalls noun	Trousers traditionally worn by cavalry.
silo noun	An underground bunker used to hold missiles which may be launched.
loophole verb	To prepare a building for defense by preparing slits or holes through which to fire on attackers
cauldron noun	A strategic encirclement.
overkill noun	A destructive capacity that exceeds that needed to destroy an enemy; especially with nuclear weapons.
barrage noun	A heavy curtain of artillery fire directed in front of one's own troops to screen and protect them.
mobility noun	The ability of a military unit to move or be transported to a new position.

Word	Meaning
crossfire noun	Lines of fire from multiple positions that cross in a small region
salvo noun	A concentrated fire from pieces of artillery, as in endeavoring to make a break in a fortification; a volley.
keyhole verb	To strike a target after wobbling in flight so that the long axis of the bullet does not follow the line of flight, typically due to insufficient spin resulting from the rifling in the barrel.
groupie noun	A group captain.
dismount verb	To throw (cannon) off their carriages.
bogey noun	An unidentified aircraft, especially as observed as a spot on a radar screen and suspected to be hostile.
striker noun	A mechanism of a firearm acting upon the firing pin.
armoured adjective	Equipped with armoured vehicles.
forearm noun	A section of the weapon between the receiver and the muzzle, used to hold the firearm steady.
admiralty noun	The office or jurisdiction of an admiral.
vanguard noun	The leading units at the front of an army or fleet.
flagship noun	The ship occupied by the fleet's commander (usually an admiral); it denotes this by flying his flag.
rhubarb verb	Of fighter aircraft: to fire at a target opportunistically.
triage noun	A marshalling yard, classification yard.
illuminate verb	To direct a radar beam toward.
contingent noun	A quota of troops.
vane noun	One of the metal guidance or stabilizing fins attached to the tail of a bomb or other missile.
rouse noun	The sounding of a bugle in the morning after reveille, to signal that soldiers are to rise from bed, often the rouse.
snapshot noun	A quick offhand shot, made without deliberately taking aim over the sights.
requisition noun	A demand by the invader upon the people of an invaded country for supplies, as of provision, forage, transportation, etc.
kiwi noun	A member of the air force who does not fly.
duster noun	A vehicle-mounted, multi-barrelled, anti-aircraft gun.
wildcat adjective	Of or concerning customized or hand-made cartridges.
padding noun	Extraneous text added to a message for the purpose of concealing its beginning, ending, or length.
invasive adjective	That invades a foreign country using military force; also, militarily aggressive.
standoff adjective	For use at a distance sufficient from the target to allow defensive fire to be evaded.
bracket noun	The cheek or side of an ordnance carriage, supporting the trunnions.
blowtorch noun	A jet fighter.
sandbox noun	The Middle East.
spanner noun	A hand tool shaped like a small crank handle, for winding the spring of a wheel lock on a musket.
suppression noun	The entirety of acts aimed at stopping or preventing the enemy to execute such unwanted activities like firing, regrouping, observation or others.
gouge noun	Information.
banger noun	A Bangalore torpedo.
plunger noun	A cavalryman.
crud noun	Venereal disease, or (by extension) any disease.
raider noun	A special forces operative; a commando.
sarin noun	The nerve gas O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate, used as a chemical weapon.
magpie noun	The third circle on a target, between the inner and outer.
windscreen noun	A lightweight aerodynamic fairing mounted on the nose of an armor-piercing shell to reduce drag and increase range.
arty noun	Artillery.
kinetic adjective	Relating to active warfare or the use of lethal force.
foothold noun	Airhead, beachhead, bridgehead, lodgement.
cocked adjective	Of a firearm or crossbow; to have the cock lifted or prepared to be fired.
detach verb	To separate for a special object or use.
pivot noun	The officer or soldier who simply turns in his place while the company or line moves around him in wheeling.
cadence noun	A chant that is sung by military personnel while running or marching; a jody call.
quiver noun	A container for arrows, crossbow bolts or darts, such as those fired from a bow, crossbow or blowgun.
picker noun	A priming wire for cleaning the vent, in ordnance.
harrow noun	An obstacle formed by turning an ordinary harrow upside down, the frame being buried.
chickenshit noun	A low-ranking officer who lords over and needlessly makes life miserable for his underlings; a petty, abusive martinet.
punitive adjective	Inflicting punishment; punishing.
lapping noun	The process of rubbing away the lands, or metal between the grooves of a rifled gun, to increase the bore.
turret noun	An armoured, rotating gun installation on a fort, ship, aircraft, or armoured fighting vehicle.
dugout noun	A pit dug into the ground as a shelter, especially from enemy fire.
musketeer noun	A foot soldier armed with a musket.
impregnable adjective	Of a fortress or other fortified place: able to withstand all attacks; impenetrable, inconquerable, unvanquishable.
stockade noun	An enclosure protected by a wall of wooden posts
regimental adjective	Relating to a regiment
provost noun	An officer of the military police, particularly provost marshal or provost sergeant.
terminally adverb	To the target.
ricochet noun	A method of firing a projectile so that it skips along a surface.
defile noun	An act of marching in files or lines.
breech noun	The part of a cannon or other firearm behind the chamber.
corpsman noun	A hospital corpsman.
kipper noun	A patrol to protect fishing boats in the Irish and North Seas against attack from the air.
swivel noun	A small piece of ordnance, turning on a point or swivel; called also swivel gun.
shunt noun	The shifting of the studs on a projectile from the deep to the shallow sides of the grooves in its discharge from a shunt gun.
traverse noun	In trench warfare, a defensive trench built to prevent enfilade.
echelon noun	A formation of troops, ships, etc., in diagonal parallel rows.
ack noun	The letter A as used in signalling and other types of communications.
recoil noun	The energy transmitted back to the shooter from a firearm which has fired. Recoil is a function of the weight of the weapon, the weight of the projectile, and the speed at which it leaves the muzzle.
faker noun	A friendly unit (usually aircraft) that acts as a hostile unit in a military exercise.
skirmish noun	A brief battle between small groups, usually part of a longer or larger battle or war.
stockpile noun	A supply of nuclear weapons kept by a country; a nuclear stockpile.
turnpike noun	A beam filled with spikes to obstruct passage; a cheval de frise.

Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0). Sources