standing army
5
3.7
- noun
- /ˈstændɪŋ ˈɑrmi/
:
ejército permanente
- A core belief of the Founders, shared by Federalists and Anti-Federalists alike, was that "standing armies are dangerous to liberty."
- a large standing army
- a small standing army
- maintain a standing army
The US Army was fairly complex before the war, with a system of state militias, a standing army, and the National Guard.
- The US Army was fairly complex before the war, with a system of state militias, a standing army, and the National Guard.
- There was a lot of before they made that big standing army, they had just ritual battles that they would have, and they'd take captives.
- People will say the same about nation States and standing armies and battles over, you know, specks of of of dirt that mean nothing in a cosmic sense.
Examples
-
As you know, North Korea has a one million man standing army... less than 50 kilometers from our capital.
-
Saddam has the fourth-largest standing army in the world, over a million men.
Fiction book (1994) -
Tell me again how a country with no standing army has a nuclear arsenal?
Blog text (17) -
The US Army was fairly complex before the war, with a system of state militias, a standing army, and the National Guard.
-
And Japan has the right to establish its own standing army, which need not threaten its neighbors.
Academic text (2003) -
Money is what counts most, so most nations limit their spending on standing armies and avoid military interventions.
Academic text (2010) -
The Israeli ground forces are developing into a smaller, more professional standing army that requires more coordination and precise behavior.
Academic text (1996) -
As of 2014, Egypt has the tenth-largest military in the world, with approximately 460,000 soldiers in the standing army.
Academic text (2014) -
It's no wonder Washington and his compatriots felt a standing army during peacetime posed a threat to democracy.
Academic text (2004) -
Many countries maintain a standing army to ensure they are prepared for any conflict.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
Trained soldiers of a country who fight on land
156
3.2
A group of soldiers organized to protect or fight for a country
5
3.0
Full-time official soldiers who serve a country on land in peace and war
Antonyms
How Permanent
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'standing' (in the sense ‘permanent/continuing’) + 'army' (military forces) yields a permanent, professional military force. This is a literal, cross-linguistically common construction, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The noun standing army comes from the image of soldiers kept always standing in barracks as a ready army, not just called up in war. That's why it means 'a permanent, professional army kept ready for action'.