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• Special Forces
  Special Forces

  plural noun

  U.S. Army personnel trained to organize, instruct, supply, and supervise local forces engaged in guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency operations, and to themselves conduct unconventional warfare.
• special forces
  special forces

  plural noun

  élite, highly trained military forces, specially selected to work on difficult missions

Special Forces

American  

plural noun

1. U.S. Army personnel trained to organize, instruct, supply, and supervise local forces engaged in guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency operations, and to themselves conduct unconventional warfare.

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special forces British  

plural noun

1. élite, highly trained military forces, specially selected to work on difficult missions

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Example Sentences

Commandos for the National Guard Special Forces, or FERI, secured the training exercise area and rescued a "hostage" amid a haze of explosions, smoke, and rattling gunfire.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

Special Forces in January was a deep blow to the Cuban military.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 2026

Van Dyke has been an active duty soldier in the US since 2008 and has been a master sergeant with the US Army Special Forces since 2023, according to the indictment.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Army Special Forces, made a series of bets on the Polymarket prediction market using his knowledge of what was called Operation Absolute Resolve, according to an indictment made by federal authorities.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

He was writing about Commando Special Forces, how popular and revered they were by civilians, but his dislike of their commander, a German mercenary, made his words stiff.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie