militia

Noun

Meaning

In the widest sense, the whole military force of a nation, including both those engaged in military service as a business, and those competent and available for such service; specifically, the body of citizens enrolled for military instruction and discipline, but not subject to be called into actual service except in emergencies.

Military service; warfare.

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Phrases with the word

Examples

For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best security. Thomas Jefferson

Iran, as we have already discussed, has carried out very, very harmful activities inside Iraq. Funding, trainings, arming and, in some cases, even directing the activities of the special groups associated with the Jaish al-Mahdi and the Sadr Militia. David Petraeus

[The] National Rifle Association is always arguing that the Second Amendment determines the right to bear arms. But I think it really is the people's right to bear arms in a militia. The NRA thinks it protects their right to have Teflon-coated bullets. But that's not the original understanding. Robert Bork

Hizbullah is not a militia. Bashar al-Assad

I am a Colorado native, and, no, I did not vote for the anti-gay amendment or the same-sex marriage ban, and I am not a member of a militia. Connie Willis

And raw in fields the rude militia swarms, Mouths without hands; maintain'd at vast expense, In peace a charge, in war a weak defence; Stout once a month they march, a blustering band, And ever but in times of need at hand. John Dryden

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