to move soldiers, weapons, or equipment into the correct position so they are ready for use
The commander ordered the brigade to deploy along the river before sunrise.
As tensions rose, NATO forces deployed fighter jets to patrol the airspace.
✦ From French déployer “unfold, unfurl” (originally of sails), from Latin displicāre “to scatter, spread out”.
to use resources, skills, or ideas effectively to achieve a goal
The company plans to deploy extra funds to expand its research division.
Teachers can deploy technology to make lessons more engaging.
✦ Extended figurative sense from the military meaning in the mid-20th century.
in computing, to install and launch software or updates so they are available to users
The team will deploy the new version of the app tonight.
After testing, we can deploy the website to the production server.
✦ Specialized computing sense arose in the 1980s with the spread of client-server software.
the organized use or placement of people, equipment, or resources for a particular purpose.
The deployment of new technology boosted productivity.
Effective deployment of staff is key to success.
✦ From 'deploy' + '-ment' suffix indicating action or result; general sense from military usage.
the action of deploying or arranging military forces or equipment in a particular place ready for use or action.
The general ordered the deployment of troops along the border.
The deployment of extra police helped control the crowd.
✦ Mid 18th century (in the sense 'spreading out'): from French déploiement, from déployer 'to deploy', from Latin displicare 'scatter, unfold' (literally 'unfold').
the process of making a computer program or app available for use by transferring it to a server or device.
The deployment of the new software update took only minutes.
Cloud-based deployment makes scaling easy.
✦ Modern computing sense from late 20th century, extension of general 'deploy' meaning to place into active service.
