mobilization

American  

[moh-buh-lahy-zey-shuhn] / ˌmoʊ bə laɪˈzeɪ ʃən /

especially British, mobilisation

noun

1. the act or process of marshaling, organizing, or preparing something for action.

   The study was undertaken as part of the mobilization for Ebola prevention in Sierra Leone.

2. the act or process of calling up or organizing military forces to prepare for active service, or of organizing industries, goods, etc., to serve the government in time of war.

   As an infantryman, he was on the front lines assisting in the mobilization of vehicles, troops, and weaponry.

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Other Word Forms

• countermobilization noun
• remobilization noun

Etymology

Origin of mobilization

First recorded in 1795–1805; mobiliz(e) ( def. ) + -ation ( def. )

Explanation

When a government gets its troops prepared for battle, that's mobilization. It's also mobilization when you organize your family to throw a surprise party for your sister. Preparing a group of people so they're ready to act at a moment's notice is what mobilization is all about. It comes from the verb mobilize, which literally means "to make mobile." Both words have been used in a military context since the 1850s, originally to talk about the Imperial Russian Army and its mobilization at the start of the Crimean War. Before that, mobilization simply meant "rendering capable of movement."

Example Sentences

The Yellow Vests were mostly nonviolent and had little or no experience of mass mobilization.

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

In this environment, an effective national counterterrorism strategy would likely point to stopping terrorism further upstream, interrupting radicalization and violent mobilization at an earlier stage.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

Behind this digital mobilization, according to multiple analysts, are accounts tied to Oseguera's CJNG.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

The charismatic cleric could lean on a vast network of mosques and charitable organizations to coordinate the popular mobilization.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

The German ambassador to Russia warned that Russian mobilization would compel Germany to gather its troops in turn, “and that then a European war could scarcely be prevented.”

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

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