troop

American  

[troop] / trup /

noun

troops plural

1. an assemblage of persons or things; company; band.

   Synonyms:

   crowd, group, body

2. a great number or multitude.

   A whole troop of children swarmed through the museum.

   Synonyms:

   throng, swarm, flock, herd, crowd

3. Military. an armored cavalry or cavalry unit consisting of two or more platoons and a headquarters group.

4. troops, a body of soldiers, police, etc..

   Mounted troops quelled the riot.

5. a single soldier, police officer, etc..

   Three troops were killed today by a roadside bomb.

6. a unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts usually having a maximum of 32 members under the guidance of an adult leader.

7. a herd, flock, or swarm.

8. Archaic. a band or troupe of actors.

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verb (used without object)

troops, present (3rd person singular) trooped, past participle, past trooping present participle

1. to gather in a company; flock together.

   Synonyms:

   collect

2. to come, go, or pass in great numbers; throng.

   Synonyms:

   swarm

3. to walk, as if in a march; go.

   to troop down to breakfast.

4. to walk, march, or pass in rank or order.

   The students trooped into the auditorium.

5. to associate or consort (usually followed bywith ).

verb (used with object)

troops, present (3rd person singular) trooped, past participle, past trooping present participle

1. British Military. to carry (the flag or colors) in a ceremonial way before troops.

2. Obsolete. to assemble or form into a troop or troops.

troop British  

/ truːp /

noun

1. a large group or assembly; flock

   a troop of children

2. a subdivision of a cavalry squadron or artillery battery of about platoon size

3. (plural) armed forces; soldiers

4. a large group of Scouts comprising several patrols

5. an archaic spelling of troupe

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verb

1. (intr) to gather, move, or march in or as if in a crowd

2. (tr) military to parade (the colour or flag) ceremonially

   trooping the colour

3. slang (tr) military (formerly) to report (a serviceman) for a breach of discipline

4. (intr) an archaic word for consort

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• intertroop
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• troops
  plural

Participles

• trooping
  present
• trooped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• troop
  simple
• troops
  simple
• have trooped
  perfect
• has trooped
  perfect
• am trooping
  progressive
• are trooping
  progressive
• is trooping
  progressive
• have been trooping
  perfect progressive
• has been trooping
  perfect progressive

Past

• trooped
  simple
• had trooped
  perfect
• was trooping
  progressive
• were trooping
  progressive
• had been trooping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will troop
  simple
• will have trooped
  perfect
• will be trooping
  progressive
• will have been trooping
  perfect progressive

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; see thorp) + -el, ultimately from Latin -ellus diminutive suffix

Explanation

A troop is a squad or team of soldiers. Your great grandfather might claim that his was the first army troop to march into France during World War II. Though it's correct to use the noun troop in the singular form, it's more common to see its plural, troops. You can also refer to a group of Girl or Boy Scouts this way: "My troop won a prize for selling the most Girl Scout cookies this year." To troop is also to march, so a military troop might troop down the street in the Veteran's Day parade. The root word is the Old French trope, "band of people."

Example Sentences

Troop bands playing music onstage, troops putting on military combatives exhibitions in the octagon, troops sitting, uniformed and visible, beneath the Claw to watch the spectacle in person.

From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026

The companies on Monday unveiled the 4 Troop, a multi-role civil vehicle equipped with data-processing capabilities, integrated systems to operate unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, and decision aids enabled by artificial intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026

Max Medellin, 12, of Troop 10 from Reseda salutes.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

Troop commitments in the Middle East magnify the importance of Tokyo’s increasing military muscle in Asia.

From Barron's • May 14, 2026

Many of the girls in Troop 11 were from working-class, even poor, families— children of domestic servants, crab pickers, laborers—whose parents spent most of their waking hours trying to make ends meet.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• armed forces
• army
• contingent
• forces
• military
• soldiers