What does mobilize mean in military terms?

Answer 1

It means that a unit, either active or inactive, becomes mobile and ready for action, adopting wartime procedure instead of peacetime. A military unit may mobilize for a reason other than war, such as a training exercise, or to send a message to a potential enemy, but it will still mobilize in the same way as if going to war.

Answer 2

Mobilization, in its general definition, is to move as a group to a specific location. Militarily, this means the same, but on an exponentially larger scale. When a military force "mobilizes," it means it is moving out to a location for some type of warfare, be it a conflict or even a world war. Mobilization could be as small as a platoon (approximately 32-40 soldiers) to as large as an entire military force, meaning all deployed branches. In the case of the United States military, this would be sending out the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

Of course, many other forms of mobilization in the military exist, but here are just a few examples.