pentagon

[ pen-tuh-gon, -guhn ]

noun

1. a polygon having five angles and five sides.
2. the Pentagon,
   1. a building in Arlington, Virginia, having a plan in the form of a regular pentagon, containing most U.S. Defense Department offices.
   2. the U.S. Department of Defense; the U.S. military establishment.

Pentagon

¹

/ ˈpɛntəˌɡɒn /

noun

1. the five-sided building in Arlington, Virginia, that houses the headquarters of the US Department of Defense
2. the military leadership of the US

pentagon

²

/ ˈpɛntəˌɡɒn; pɛnˈtæɡənəl /

noun

1. a polygon having five sides

pentagon

/ pĕn′tə-gŏn′ /

1. A polygon having five sides.

Pentagon

¹

1. An immense five-sided building in Virginia , just outside Washington, D.C. , that serves as headquarters for the Department of Defense .

pentagon

²

1. A polygon having five sides.

Notes

The term is often used to refer to the Department of Defense or the military: “The Pentagon agreed today to submit the modified weapons plan to the president.”

The Pentagon was severely damaged by the September 11 attacks .

Derived Forms

• pentagonal, adjective

Other Words From

• pen·tag·o·nal [pen-, tag, -, uh, -nl], adjective
• pen·tago·nal·ly adverb
• subpen·tago·nal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pentagon¹

1560–70; < Late Latin pentagōnum < Greek pentágōnon, noun use of neuter of pentágōnos five-angled. See penta-, -gon

Example Sentences

During his first term, Trump bypassed Congress to divert Pentagon funds to expand the border wall by declaring a national emergency.

From Los Angeles Times

Even the number being deployed - originally put at around 11,000 by the Pentagon - has been debated.

From BBC

“The Pentagon likes to say our diversity is our strength,” Hegseth said on Fox News in June.

From Los Angeles Times

"The question is of course how many missiles do they have? We have heard that the Pentagon has warned there aren’t that many of these missiles that they can make available to Ukraine."

From BBC

The senators have urged the Pentagon and the Justice Department to determine whether the conversations, which the Kremlin has denied, should force a review of the federal government's contracts with Musk's company, SpaceX.

From BBC