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squadron

American  
[skwod-ruhn] / ˈskwɒd rən /

noun

  1. a portion of a naval fleet or a detachment of warships; a subdivision of a fleet.

  2. an armored cavalry or cavalry unit consisting of two or more troops, a headquarters, and various supporting units.

  3. (in the U.S. Air Force).

    1. the basic administrative and tactical unit, smaller than a group and composed of two or more flights.

    2. a flight formation.

  4. a number of persons grouped or united together for some purpose; group.

verb (used with object)

  1. to form into a squadron or squadrons; marshal or array in or as if in squadrons.

squadron British  
/ ˈskwɒdrən /

noun

    1. a subdivision of a naval fleet detached for a particular task

    2. a number of naval units usually of similar type and consisting of two or more divisions

  2. a cavalry unit comprising two or more troops, headquarters, and supporting arms

  3. the basic tactical and administrative air force unit comprising two or more flights

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • half-squadron noun
  • subsquadron noun

Etymology

Origin of squadron

1555–65; < Italian squadrone, equivalent to squadr ( a ) square + -one augmentative 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.

Space Force Capt. Gordon McCulloh was sitting in a military propeller plane high in the calm, dark sky over New Mexico on a recent Wednesday night when his squadron’s group chat blew up.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We have more than a full squadron ready to go, ready to fight, ready to win, with more in the pipeline," he added.

From BBC

As well as being used by the Royal Netherlands Air Force, Volkel Air Base hosts a US Air Force squadron as part of Nato.

From BBC

Its decision to send a squadron of Challenger 2 battle tanks, for example, foreshadowed decisions by Germany and the United States to send more sophisticated tanks.

From New York Times

The Home Office says up to 2,000 asylum seekers could be housed at RAF Scampton, a base famous for being the former home of the Red Arrows and the World War Two Dambusters squadron.

From BBC

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.