v. de·ployed, de·ploy·ing, de·ploys v.tr. 1. a. To position (troops) in readiness for combat, as along a front or line. b. To bring (forces or material) into action. c. To base (a weapons system) in the field. 2. To distribute (persons or forces) systematically or strategically. 3. To put into use or action: "Samuel Beckett's friends suspected that he was a genius, yet no one knew ... how his abilities would be deployed" (Richard Ellmann). v.intr. To be or become deployed. [French déployer, from Old French despleier, from Latin displicāre, to scatter : dis-, dis- + plicāre, to fold; see plek- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] de·ploy′a·bili·ty n. de·ploya·ble adj. de·ployer n. de·ployment n. |
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