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Marine Corps

Marine Corps

123 3.6
A part of a country's armed forces trained to fight from ships and planes to land
  • noun
  • /mɑːˈrin kɔːrz/
  • US
translation icon : Cuerpo de Marines
  • Philip Caputo details his experiences as a Marine Corps lieutenant in this widely acclaimed book.
  • United States Marine Corps
  • Marine Corps basic training
  • Marine Corps base

What rank I had in the Marine Corps matters this much.

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Examples

  • I was in the Marine Corps.

  • The the entire British Army is smaller than the US Marine Corps, and the British have the best army in Europe.

  • But I quit to go join the Marine Corps because I serve my country.

  • I'm with the United States Marine Corps.

  • By contrast, U.S. Marine Corps units were able to perform effectively from the beginning.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The visitor was an old Marine Corps buddy, still active and in uniform.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • At present, U.S. Army and Marine Corps reenlistment rates are strong.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Green thinks of his father, Frank, a retired Marine Corps master sergeant and 20-year veteran.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Well, you know, when I enlisted in the Marine Corps, I did so mostly because I had two friends of mine asked me to join them.

  • He spent the better part of his adult life in the Marine Corps.

Synonyms

corps
vsMarine Corps
  • Specialized
529 7.2

A large military group made of two or more divisions and support

is a whole armed branch rather than just a large military unit
military service
vsMarine Corps
36 2.9

A part of a country's armed forces, like the army or navy

is a specific branch trained for combined sea land and air operations
United States Marines
vsMarine Corps
11 3.2

A branch of the United States armed forces trained to fight on land and from ships

is the general armed branch trained across sea land and air tasks
10 3.1

A part of the US military that fights on land and from ships

is the general branch trained for amphibious and land sea air operations
USMC
vsMarine Corps
10 4.4

A branch of the United States military that trains to fight from ships and beaches

is the broader branch trained for amphibious and other combined operations
US Marine Corps
vsMarine Corps
1 3.9

A branch of the United States military that fights from ships and goes ashore

is the national service trained in amphibious plus land and air roles
Marines
vsMarine Corps
3.5

A group of soldiers trained to fight at sea and on land, often during beach landings

is the broader term for that branch with emphasis on amphibious skill

Surface Forms

Marine Corps singular

Morphology

Marines + corps

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Marines' (military force trained for amphibious operations) combined with 'corps' (a military unit) yields a military branch associated with maritime/amphibious duties. This follows a regular noun+noun formation and has clear equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Marine Corps comes from words meaning 'of the sea' (marine) and 'body' or 'group' (corps), so it literally pictures a body of soldiers for the sea. That's why the name now refers to the military force trained to work from ships and to fight on land after coming from the sea.