troop
Americannoun
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an assemblage of persons or things; company; band.
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a great number or multitude.
A whole troop of children swarmed through the museum.
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Military. an armored cavalry or cavalry unit consisting of two or more platoons and a headquarters group.
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troops, a body of soldiers, police, etc..
Mounted troops quelled the riot.
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a single soldier, police officer, etc..
Three troops were killed today by a roadside bomb.
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a unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts usually having a maximum of 32 members under the guidance of an adult leader.
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a herd, flock, or swarm.
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Archaic. a band or troupe of actors.
verb (used without object)
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to gather in a company; flock together.
- Synonyms:
- collect
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to come, go, or pass in great numbers; throng.
- Synonyms:
- swarm
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to walk, as if in a march; go.
to troop down to breakfast.
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to walk, march, or pass in rank or order.
The students trooped into the auditorium.
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to associate or consort (usually followed bywith ).
verb (used with object)
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British Military. to carry (the flag or colors) in a ceremonial way before troops.
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Obsolete. to assemble or form into a troop or troops.
noun
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a large group or assembly; flock
a troop of children
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a subdivision of a cavalry squadron or artillery battery of about platoon size
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(plural) armed forces; soldiers
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a large group of Scouts comprising several patrols
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an archaic spelling of troupe
verb
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(intr) to gather, move, or march in or as if in a crowd
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(tr) military to parade (the colour or flag) ceremonially
trooping the colour
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slang (tr) military (formerly) to report (a serviceman) for a breach of discipline
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(intr) an archaic word for consort
Related Words
See company. Troop, troupe both mean a band, company, or group. Troop has various meanings as indicated in the definitions above. With the spelling troupe the word has the specialized meaning of a company of actors, singers, acrobats, or other performers.
Other Word Forms
- intertroop adjective
Etymology
Origin of troop
First recorded in 1535–45; from French troupe, Old French trope, probably back formation from tropel “herd, flock” ( French troupeau ), equivalent to trop- (from Germanic; thorp ) + -el, ultimately from Latin -ellus diminutive suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Afghan government earlier put the death toll among its troops at 13.
From Barron's
It also says that if the president deploys US troops for a military action for more than 60 days, the head of state must then obtain the authorization of Congress for continued action.
From Barron's
The company’s Claude model and AI tools are on the front line of U.S. innovation, and nothing is more important for U.S. troops than having the battlefield edge in technology.
New York’s White Horse Tavern, established in 1880, and Fraunces Tavern, site of Washington’s 1783 farewell to his troops, have become so popular with tourists, they more closely resemble theme parks than local watering holes.
In 1768 King George III filled Boston with armed troops, creating a powder keg; in two years the spark of a single rifle shot would explode the Boston Massacre.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
