ASVAB Test Blog
Nov 25th, 2021 
Top 100 Military Vocabulary!
Must-Know Military Vocabulary!
If you are planning to enlist in the armed forces, you must have the relevant military vocabulary in mind. Even for the ASVAB exam, it is important that you enter the exam with the most common military vocabulary.
Whether it is for the word knowledge or paragraph comprehension domains of the exam, you must know both military and non-military vocabulary. The more terms and phrases you know, the better. Nor is it enough to try and memorize words without knowing what they really mean. Instead, you must put the time and effort into learning and practicing these words.
Reading is clearly one of the best ways to improve military vocabulary and answer vocabulary-based ASVAB test questions. If you do not understand a word or phrase, write it down and come back to it later. Avoid the temptation of ignoring these words and phrases. Furthermore, always try to practice any new words or phrases you learn. The people to whom you are speaking will not even know that this is what you are doing. And, moreover, they may even ask you what that word or phrase means. This is excellent practice – and it can, over the coming weeks and months, improve your ability to soak up more words and phrases.
Given that word knowledge and paragraph comprehension comprise half of the tests used to calculate your AFQT score; it is imperative that you invest the necessary time to build your military vocabulary.
Top 100 Military Vocabulary to Know!
| Vocabulary | Meaning |
| Advance | Forward movement of a military unit toward the target enemy. |
| Armor | Protective covering used to protect either military personnel or vehicles. |
| Arsenal | Collection of weapons or military equipment. |
| Artillery | Heavy military weapons that are large-calibre guns used on land. |
| Amphibious | Involving forces that have landed from the sea. |
| Armistice | A truce between two sides of an opposing war to halt military activity. |
| Ballistic | Relating to projectiles and their flight – for example: ballistic missiles. |
| Battalion | Unit of troops ready to engage in battle. |
| Barracks | Building or buildings used to house soldiers and/or other personnel. |
| Barrage | Concentrated artillery bombardment over a relatively large space of land. |
| Battery | A tactical unit of artillery. |
| Bombardment | Mass attack on an area of towns and buildings and combatants and fortifications; typically delivered by a range of artillery, both ground and aerial. |
| Bivouac | A military camp. |
| Brigade | A military formation composed of three to six battalions. |
| Camouflage | Concealment and visual deception of the presence of military units. |
| Convoy | Group of ships or vehicles travelling together; typically accompanied by armed protection of some kind. |
| Casualty | Person killed or injured in war. |
| Cavalry | Soldiers who fight on horseback. |
| Conscription | Compulsory enlistment to enter a state’s armed forces. |
| Decode | To convert a coded message into an intelligible message. |
| Destroyer | Small, fast warship; often equipped for defense against aircraft or submarines. |
| Detonate | To cause to explode. |
| Draft | To require citizens of a certain age to enter the country’s military service. |
| Deployment | Movement of troops to a designated location ready for battle or engagement. |
| Encampment | Location of temporary accommodation for troops. |
| Envelopment | Attacking the enemy’s rear to prevent them from withdrawing. Pincer movement and encirclement are both examples of envelopment. |
| Embarkation | Loading a ship or plane with military personnel. |
| Ensign | Flag or signal that indicates the nationality of the military. |
| Epaulette | An ornamental shoulder piece worn by members of the military. |
| Enlist | To be enrolled in the armed forces. |
| Evacuate | To remove someone from a place of danger to a place of safety. |
| Flank | The right or left side of a body of military forces. |
| Flotilla | Small feet of ships. |
| Formation | A tactical arrangement of the armed forces. |
| Furlough | Extended period of leave for military personnel to return home. |
| Fortification | Work to strengthen a position against enemy attack. |
| Garrison | Body of troops stationed at a given location. |
| Guerrilla | A non-military force engaged in action against conventional military forces. |
| Hang Fire | Delay between triggering of a firearm and the ignition of the propellant. |
| Headquarters | The installation from which a commander controls and organizes his forces. |
| Howitzer | Cannon artillery capable of high-angle and low-angle fire. |
| H-Hour | The specific hour that an operation commences. |
| Infantry | Army specialization whose personnel engage in military action on foot. |
| Insignia | A badge indicating mark of office or honor. |
| Insurgency | An attempt to subvert a government or occupying power. |
| Invasion | A military offensive in which a large number of combatants on one side enter the territory of the enemy. |
| Jeep | Four-wheel drive vehicle often used for reconnaissance or other army duty work. |
| Lieutenant | Lowest rank of commissioned officer in most armies of the world. |
| Magazine | A storage device for ammunition. |
| Marksman | Military person skilled in precision shooting. |
| Maneuver | Military movement; especially as it relates to training for war. |
| Mission | Operation put together by a high-ranking official of the armed forces to achieve a specific goal. |
| Mount | A stand on which a weapon is secured to hold in position for rapid fire. |
| Munitions | All ammunition products or components used for national defense or security. |
| Missile | Rocket-propelled weapon designed to deliver an explosive warhead with accuracy. |
| Muzzle | Front end of a barrel; the mouth of the barrel. |
| Ordnance | Military supplies which include weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment. |
| Patrol | A small unit sent out for purposes such as reconnaissance or combat. |
| Paratrooper | Military parachutist; an individual trained to parachute into a military battle. |
| Purple Heart | Medal presented to service members who have been injured or killed whilst serving in the US military. |
| Platoon | Consists of up to 50 troops who are often organized into one or more squads and led by non-commissioned officers. |
| Plunging Fire | Fire that strikes the ground at a sharp angle. |
| Pentagon | A five-sided building in Washington DC that contains the offices of the US armed forces. |
| Prisoner of War | A non-combatant held captive by a belligerent force. |
| Propaganda | A form of communication deliberately designed to communicate a specific set of messages to the population. |
| Quartermaster | Senior soldier who monitors military stores and ammunition and oversees their distribution. |
| Raid (Depredation) | Quickly attacking an enemy force location and pulling back sharply. |
| Radar | Detection device that uses radio waves to establish the speed, position, and direction of objects. |
| Reconnaissance | To obtain information about the enemy using a variety of detection methods. |
| Regiment | Body of troops, often led by a colonel. |
| Reserve | Group of military personnel or units who are not active in battle, but who are ready for combat and who may be called upon if needed. |
| Revolt | A military rebellion. |
| Reverse Slope | Any slope that descends away from the enemy. |
| Roadblock | A barrier erected to limit the movement of vehicles. |
| Sabotage | Deliberate action to undermine the effort or organization of an armed unit, which may even come from within. |
| Salvo | Simultaneous discharge of both artillery and firearms to overwhelm an enemy force. |
| Screen Fire | Curtain of smoke that protects military forces from enemy observation. |
| Sniper | A marksman who engaged an enemy target from a distanced position. |
| Shell | A steel-metal projectile that contains an explosive. |
| Siege | Military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering it by attrition. |
| Sedition | Incitement of rebellion against the ruling government, or the attempt to overthrow that government. |
| Skirmishers | A line of troops in extended order during a tactical exercise or attack. |
| Squadron | A unit that comprises a number of units, such as a defined number of aircraft. |
| Static | Electrical disturbance that interferes with radio communications. |
| Terrain | A tract of land. |
| Trajectory | Direction and angle of flow toward a target; for example: from a projectile. |
| Traversing Fire | Fire distributed across an area by changes in the direction that the weapon is pointed. |
| Topographical Crest | Highest point of an elevated terrain. |
| Task Force | A unit or formation put together to work on a specific and defined task or goal. |
| Uniform | Standard dress worn by members of the US armed forces. |
| Unit | A group put together to work on a target combat operation; often a support role within a wider operation. |
| Veteran | A person who has served in the military and has since been discharged and returned to civilian life. |
| Warrant Officer | In the US Navy, a warrant officer is above the rank of petty officer but below the rank of ensign. |
| Warfare | Military operations between two opposing forces. |
| Wedge Formation | Also known as a V-formation in which the point is toward the enemy and there is a formation of elements to both of its flanks. |
| Wound | An injury to living tissue. |
| Withdrawal | Movement where a force disengages from a military battle, as commanded. |
| Zone of Action | An area over which a military unit is to act and to which it has been given responsibility to meet a target objective. |
| Zone of Fire | An area of land in which personnel are prepared to deliver fire. |
| Zulu Time | A term that refers to Universal Coordinated Time (UCT) – also known as GMT. Zulu takes its name from Z in the NATO phonetic alphabet. |
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Did you know?
As of 2021, there are over 1.4 million active duty members in the US military, down from 2.1 million members in 1990.
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