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military mission

military mission

9 4.0
A task given to a group of soldiers to reach a clear goal
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪlɪˌtɛri ˈmɪʃən/
translation icon : misión militar
  • To meet that goal, the Pentagon is already suggesting that military missions and troop levels be reduced.
  • U.S. military mission
  • new military mission
  • military mission as the defense

Examples

  • Support for traditional military missions is consistent across service branches.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Like other Western nations, the United States was faced with the task of redefining its military mission in light of the redefined threat.

    Academic text (2000)
  • What a convenient way to send a military mission with full authority to dig, dig, dig.

  • During war, there is a natural tension between legal safeguards and the military mission.

    Academic text (2007)
  • The military mission, as originally defined by President Obama, was achieved in Afghanistan but not in Pakistan.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The House and the Senate have appropriated hundreds of billions of dollars for the military missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    Academic text (2010)
  • As the military takes on an ever-increasing number of these kinds of politico-military missions, one can see a changing role for the junior-level soldier.

    Academic text (1994)
  • In fact, the American people are rightly suspicious of military missions that are ill-defined, open-ended, and unimportant to the national interest.

    Academic text (1996)
  • There are several reasons for this, among them a lack of clear national interest, an extremely low tolerance for casualties in military missions that are essentially humanitarian, and an aversion to long-term policing.

    Academic text (2014)
  • The soldiers were prepared to carry out their military mission to secure the region.

Synonyms

mission
vsmilitary mission
2.8

An important task or a group sent by an organization to do it

is assigned by a higher authority to armed personnel or units
operation
vsmilitary mission
811 3.2

A planned action by a group to achieve a goal

is specifically an assigned action given by higher authority to armed units
military operation
vsmilitary mission
56 3.7

A planned action by armed forces to achieve a goal

is assigned by a higher authority to units with a defined objective
duty assignment
vsmilitary mission
  • Jargon
3 3.5

A specific job or task officially given to someone, often in the military

focuses on goal-oriented action assigned to units rather than routine tasks

How Dangerous

military mission
9 4.0
high-risk
54 4.4
service routine
  • Specialized
3.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

military + mission

The meaning 'an operation assigned to a military unit' is directly and compositionally derived from 'military' (relating to soldiers/war) + 'mission' (a formal assigned task). This ADJ+NOUN combination follows standard and cross-linguistically common composition patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand the expression.

Etymology

The noun military mission comes from the old idea of a mission as someone being 'sent' out to do a special job. So a military mission is literally soldiers 'sent' to carry out a planned 'task', which is why today it means a military task with a clear goal.