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Glite Dictionary
Israeli Defense Force

Israeli Defense Force

3 3.8
The army, navy, and air force of Israel working together to protect the country
  • proper noun
  • /ˈɪzreɪli dɪˈfɛns fɔrs/
translation icon : Fuerzas de Defensa de Israel
  • The Israeli Defense Forces had launched a military operation in the West Bank, the largest since the Six-Day War in 1967.
  • Israeli Defense Force (IDF)
  • Israeli Defense Force

Examples

  • The Israeli Defense Force has gone to great lengths to minimize civilian deaths in Gaza.

    Blog text (15)

  • RT: According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, it says it's eliminated 90 percent of Hamas's military capability.

    Blog text (3)

  • The Israeli Defense Force spokesperson Avital Leibovich confirmed a rocket was fired from Gaza and struck outside Jerusalem.

    Blog text (17)

  • While the Israeli Defense Forces are considered a citizen army, conscription is not universal to all Israeli male citizens, nor is service, once conscripted, on equal terms.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the summons of 30,000 reserve soldiers.

    Blog text (3)

  • Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has authorized the call-up of 30,000 army reservists, according to BBC News.

    Blog text (11)

  • The Israeli Defense Force has deployed additional troops to the border for increased security.

  • Many young Israelis see joining the Israeli Defense Force as their civic duty.

  • The Israeli Defense Force conducts regular training exercises to maintain operational readiness.

Synonyms

armed forces
vsIsraeli Defense Force
190 2.3

The military groups of a country, like the army, navy and air force

is the specific national title for those forces used for defense
military force
vsIsraeli Defense Force
156 3.2

A group of soldiers organized to protect or fight for a country

is broader naming the whole national military rather than a single group
IDF
vsIsraeli Defense Force
30 5.4

The armed forces of Israel that include the army, air force and navy

is the full formal name rather than its abbreviated form
defense force
vsIsraeli Defense Force
  • US
10 3.8

A group of soldiers and other people trained to protect a country from attack

is the nation's official combined military term rather than a generic defending body
armed services
vsIsraeli Defense Force
9 3.0

The military groups of a country, like the army, navy, and air force

is the precise organizational label for those national services
Israel Occupation Forces
vsIsraeli Defense Force
9.5

Israeli military forces controlling land claimed by others

is the neutral official national military name not a politicized label

Surface Forms

Israeli Defense Force main

Morphology

Israeli + defense + force

The meaning 'the combined military forces of Israel' is directly and compositionally derived from 'Israeli' (of Israel) + 'defense' (protection) + 'force' (armed group). This naming pattern is cross-linguistically common for national military organizations, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

Israeli Defense Force comes from when Israel became a country and set up one military group that joined the army, navy, and air force to 'defend' it. The words Israeli, Defense, and Force simply show that this is Israel's military whose job is 'to defend' the country.