military-industrial complex

[mil-i-ter-ee-in-duhs-tree-uhl]

noun

1. a network of a nation's military force together with all of the industries that support it.

military-industrial complex

noun

1. (in the US) the combined interests of the military establishment and industries involved in producing military material considered as exerting influence on US foreign and economic policy

military-industrial complex

1. A general term for the cooperative relationship between the military and the industrial producers of military equipment and supplies in lobbying for increased spending on military programs.

In his farewell address, President Dwight Eisenhower warned that the growth of this relationship would increase the militarization of American society and endanger the principles of democracy.

Word History and Origins

Origin of military-industrial complex¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

With respect to drones or UAS, I can hear the wheels of the military-industrial complex grinding away.

From Salon

True, Russia's economy has been growing, but largely due to massive state spending on the defence sector and military-industrial complex.

From BBC

There’s a discernible pattern here that I don’t claim to understand, although I'm afraid the most likely explanation can be summed up with the words “military-industrial complex.”

From Salon

"The extent of the damage is such that the Russian military-industrial complex, in its current state, is unlikely to be able to restore them in the near future," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

From BBC

For the moment, Trump has been shoved halfway back into the arms of Republican chickenhawks, the enfeebled tools of the military-industrial complex who no doubt suspected this would happen all along.

From Salon