forces

The word “forces” means the military, especially the armed services of a country, collectively. In plain terms, a country's military, or a general term for organized groups of soldiers or troops.

“Forces” is pronounced FAW-sihz (/ˈfɔɹ.sɪz/ in IPA).

Here is “forces” used in a sentence: “He served in the armed forces for over a decade.”

“Forces” is a noun.

“Forces” is a very common word in modern English.

Forces is the broad term for a country's whole military — army, navy, and air force together, along with their equipment and organization. Troops usually means the soldiers themselves, especially ground personnel in numbers. So a nation deploys its forces, and within them the troops are the people on the ground.

The armed forces are the official military organizations a country maintains for defense and war. They are usually divided into branches — commonly the army for land, the navy for sea, and the air force for the skies, with some nations adding marines, coast guard, or space and cyber units.

A headline reading 'forces were deployed to the border' refers to military units sent there. 'She served in the forces for ten years' means a career in the armed services. Phrases such as allied forces, ground forces, or joining the forces all use the word for a nation's military.