deployment

noun

de·​ploy·​ment di-ˈplȯi-mənt 

plural deployments

: the act or movement of deploying or the state of being deployed: such as

a

: placement or arrangement (as of military personnel or equipment) in position for a particular use or purpose

deployment of troops

deployment of a sales force

U.S. military assistance for hurricane relief efforts has delayed the deployment of additional forces to Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

—Reuters

… memories of the peace protests that in the 1980s greeted the deployment of nuclear-armed cruise missiles on Greenham Common in Berkshire.

—Tim Luckhurst

also : an instance of such placement (as in a battle zone) for a period of time

On breaks from his job as a guard at the prison Camp Bucca, Iraq … during his last deployment, in 2007, James would retreat to the camp's sand-swept outdoor court and try to perfect his shot.

—Kelli Anderson

b

: an instance of use that involves something opening and spreading out

a pilot's deployment of a parachute after ejecting from the cockpit

These components work together to fully deploy the air bag within 50 milliseconds of impact. After deployment, the air bag will deflate in approximately 100 milliseconds.

—Martin W. Stockel et al.

Examples of deployment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

How will Google—and by proxy, Samsung—respond to Apple’s AI deployment with iOS 18.1 and iOS 18.2 by that point. —Zak Doffman, Forbes, 26 Oct. 2024

That deployment focus has homed in on activating the private sector—a choice clear from the personnel hired to execute the vision. —Justin Worland, TIME, 25 Oct. 2024

The big picture: The U.S. confirmed earlier this week that North Korean troops had reached Russia, their first deployment abroad since the Vietnam War, per NBC News. —Ivana Saric, Axios, 25 Oct. 2024

The Kremlin had initially dismissed allegations of North Korean troop deployments, but on Thursday at the BRICS summit, Putin did not deny that Pyongyang had sent soldiers to the country. —Victoria Butenko, CNN, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French déploiement, from déployer "to unfurl, spread out, deploy" + -ment -ment

First Known Use

1781, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing deployment

• counter-deployment