franc-tireur

American

[frahn-tee-rœr] / frɑ̃ tiˈrœr /

noun

French.

PLURAL

francs-tireurs

a sharpshooter in the French army.

franc-tireur British

/ frɑ̃tirœr /

noun

a sniper
a guerrilla or irregular soldier

"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

Etymology

Origin of franc-tireur

First recorded in 1800–10

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.

Fryatt was then taken away to Bruges to stand trial on charges of being franc-tireur - a civilian engaged in hostile military activity.

From BBC

Teenage fighter Moreau was attacked as a "franc-tireur" or "free shooter", as a civilian taking up arms.

From BBC

He was tried in Bruges on charges of being franc-tireur - a civilian engaged in hostile military activity.

From BBC

There might have been a franc-tireur behind every tree.

From Project Gutenberg

This is one of the many nefarious franc-tireur proceedings of the British merchant marine against our war vessels, and it has found a belated but merited expiation.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023