sortie
Americannoun
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a rapid movement of troops from a besieged place to attack the besiegers.
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a body of troops involved in such a movement.
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the flying of an airplane on a combat mission.
verb (used without object)
noun
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(of troops, etc) the act of emerging from a contained or besieged position
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the troops doing this
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an operational flight made by one aircraft
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a short or relatively short return trip
verb
Etymology
Origin of sortie
1680–90; < French, noun use of feminine past participle of sortir to go out
Explanation
When a group of soldiers is sent on a specific mission, it's called a sortie. A fighter pilot's sortie might involve a mission to drop a bomb on a target and return to base. When a fighting unit is deployed, heading out on a military mission, you can describe it as a sortie. A sortie might involve troops moving across a field toward their enemy, or a tank advancing on a city held by rebels. Sometimes a sortie involves a sudden surge or attack. In French, the word sortie literally means "a going out," from a Latin root, surgere, or "rise up."
Vocabulary lists containing sortie
National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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This Week in Words: May 11–17, 2019
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 6
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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.
Turk’s bad back makes it a brief sortie, but the attempt confirms that their friendship remains fundamentally intact.
From Salon • Feb. 26, 2026
Air-superiority missions, for instance, would require them to sortie and remain “on station” in Taiwan’s vicinity for a time before returning, which isn’t viable from Guam, Heginbotham said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025
The aircraft was diverted there after it ran into bad weather during a sortie in the Indian ocean and was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy's flagship carrier.
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2025
But this time the Russian plane wasn’t on a bombing sortie.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2024
“My pilot had a stupid navigator and I had a mindless pilot.... By her fifth sortie, Dina felt very tired and kept falling asleep.”
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
