Army refers to a large organized body of land military forces prepared for combat. It also denotes the collective leadership, units, and personnel of such forces, or, more loosely, organized military force in general. In everyday usage, 'army' can describe a country’s armed land service or metaphorically imply a sizable, organized group working toward a common objective.
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- You may shorten or flatten the first syllable too much, producing a quick 'arm-e' sound. Ensure you keep /ɑː/ long enough before the /r/. - Some speakers replace /r/ with a vowel-like sound or drop it, giving /ˈæmi/ or /ˈɑːmi/. Work on an articulate rhotic or clearly link the /r/ with the following vowel. - The second syllable often becomes a mere schwa or a hurried /i/. Practice a crisp /i/ without a stressed vowel but a distinct closure for the syllable end.
- US: emphasize rhotic /r/ and a tinted back vowel /ɑː/; keep the tongue high enough to touch the alveolar ridge for /r/ and avoid vowel reduction in /ˈɑːrmi/. - UK: less rhoticity; the first syllable is long but the /r/ often soft; focus on lengthened /ɑː/ and crisper /i/. - AU: similar to UK with a slightly brighter /i/ and a less pronounced /r/ in some speakers; maintain the two-syllable rhythm and avoid blending /r/ into a vowel. IPA references: US /ˈɑːrmi/, UK /ˈɑːmi/, AU /ˈɑːmi/.
"The army announced a new training schedule for recruits."
"During the parade, the army displayed ceremonial uniforms and precision drill."
"He joined the army after college and served overseas."
"A large army of volunteers helped rebuild the town after the disaster."
Army comes from Old French armee, borrowed from the Frankish arma meaning equipment, gear, or military forces, which itself derives from Latin armare meaning to equip or arm. The term entered Middle English through Norman influence, originally signifying an armed band or company of soldiers. Over time, armee broadened to denote a structured military establishment, including the concept of hierarchies, ranks, and organized units. In the 14th–17th centuries, the word carried the sense of a collective body of troops, both infantry and supporting arms; by the 18th century it was entrenched as the primary name for land-based armed forces in many languages. The modern sense emphasizes a formal institution with personnel, equipment, and doctrine, while still retaining its core association with organized land warfare. First known written use in English appears in Middle English texts, with related forms appearing in battlefield chronicles and legal-military documents of the late medieval period. The political significance of ‘the army’—as an institution—emerged strongly in the early modern era when standing armies became more common, formalized, and symbolically connected to national identity.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "army" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "army"
-rmy sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce it as AR-mee, with stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈɑːrmi/ , UK /ˈɑːmi/, AU /ˈɑːmi/. Start with an open back unrounded vowel for the first syllable, then a crisp /r/ (American /ɑːr/ has a pronounced rhotic link), followed by a relaxed /i/ as in 'me'. Keep the second syllable short and light. Visualize the mouth staying open for /ɑː/ then the tongue relaxing into /r/ and finally a short /i/.
Common errors include dropping the /r/ in non-rhotic accents or misplacing the stress, saying 'ah-mee' or 'ar-mee' with an overlong second syllable. Another misstep is attempting a blunt /æ/ or /æː/ in the first syllable, making it sound like 'am-mee'. Correction: use /ˈɑːrmi/ with a clear rhotic /r/ in American and a lightly rhotic or non-rhotic pronunciation depending on dialect, but ensure the first syllable carries the primary stress and avoid vowel reduction in careful speech.
In US English, /ˈɑːrmi/ features a rhotic /r/ adjacent to a back rounded vowel; the /r/ is strongly pronounced. UK English tends toward a similar /ˈɑːmi/ without a heavily rolled or tapped /r/, with a slightly shorter /ːɑː/ and less pronounced rhotics in some accents. Australian English aligns closely with UK but can feature a more centralized vowel quality in the first syllable and a lightly pronounced /r/ depending on speaker. Overall, the vowel length and rhoticity distinguish these varieties.
The difficulty lies in balancing the diphthong-like /ɑː/ followed immediately by /r/ in American speech, creating a challenging rhotic transition, and then a short /i/ in the second syllable. Non-native speakers often misplace the /r/ or merge the two syllables too loosely, producing /ˈæmi/ or /ˈɑːmi/ with a weak second vowel. Practicing the exact /ˈɑːrmi/ sequence, focusing on the tongue position for /r/ and keeping /i/ crisp, helps stabilize the rhythm.
Is the 'ar' portion pronounced with a true rhotic /r/ in British varieties, or is it more of a non-rhotic /ɑː/ followed by a separate /m/? In most standard British pronunciations, the /r/ is not heavily pronounced unless followed by a vowel, so you still get /ˈɑːmi/ with a shorter, less pronounced /r/; the key is keeping the first syllable long and the second syllable short, with a distinct /i/ at the end.
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- Shadowing: listen to a native speaker say /ˈɑːrmi/ and repeat in real time, aiming for exact timing between /ɑː/ and /r/. - Minimal pairs: practice with /ˈɑːmi/ vs. /ˈæmi/; compare meaning to ensure correct separation of syllables. - Rhythm: stress-timed two-syllable pattern; keep a gentle pause between syllables in slow speech, then reduce in fast speech. - Intonation: neutral statement has even pitch; practice falling intonation at the end. - Stress practice: keep primary stress on the first syllable. - Recording: record and compare with a native sample; listen for /r/ quality and final /i/ crispness.
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