brigade

American  

[bri-geyd] / brɪˈgeɪd /

noun

brigades plural

1. a military unit having its own headquarters and consisting of two or more regiments, squadrons, groups, or battalions.

2. a large body of troops.

3. Digital Technology. cybermob.

4. a group of individuals organized for a particular purpose: a rescue brigade.

   a fire brigade;

   a rescue brigade.

5. bucket brigade.

6. History/Historical. a convoy of canoes, sleds, wagons, or pack animals, especially as used to supply trappers in the 18th- and 19th-century Canadian and U.S. fur trade.

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verb (used with object)

brigaded, brigading

1. to form into a brigade.

2. to group together.

verb (used with or without object)

brigaded, brigading

1. Digital Technology. to engage in online brigading.

brigade British  

/ brɪˈɡeɪd /

noun

1. a formation of fighting units, together with support arms and services, smaller than a division and usually commanded by a brigadier

2. a group of people organized for a certain task

   a rescue brigade

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verb

1. to organize into a brigade

2. to put or group together

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subbrigade
  noun
• interbrigade
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• brigades
  plural

Etymology

Origin of brigade

First recorded in 1630–40; from French, from Old Italian brigata “company of soldiers,” originally “group, band,” equivalent to brig(are) probably “to associate (with), be together” (obsolete sense), probably of Celtic origin; see brigand + -ata -ade ¹

Explanation

A brigade is a unit of the army. A bunch of brigades make up a division, while brigades are divided into battalions and regiments. The military is nothing if not organized, and one of the forms of organization is the brigade. A brigade is smaller than a division, but larger than a battalion or regiment, several of which make up a brigade. A colonel or brigadier general will command a brigade, which consists of several units, including one at headquarters, one infantry unit, plus support staff. Soldiers in the same brigade will work together closely. Veterans will remember their brigade comrades.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

brigade brigades brigaded brigading

The fire brigade has advised people in the area to keep their windows and doors closed due to the significant amount of smoke produced by the fire.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

Nearby, a US brigade deployed search dogs and activated a highly sensitive sensor to detect sounds.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Antwerp fire brigade spokeswoman Marie de Clercq said it was a complex fire and the poor visibility and thick smoke in the building had made it difficult to put out.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

He said "pretty much all our indicators are in a critical state", including calls to emergency medical services, calls to the fire brigade, ER admissions, and deaths, he told local TV.

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

It was during this period that Ernest acquired the reputation of a relentless taskmaster in command of a growing brigade; the recurring term in personal reminiscences of the Rad Lab is “slave driver.”

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

In other words, European rearmament will take time, and nobody even pretends that European troops are today fully prepared to replace American brigades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

Cordone said the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between the government and the SDF was moving forward, with four SDF brigades integrated into government forces receiving state salaries and 1,300 SDF-affiliated detainees released.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Voluntary brigades worked alongside those forced into compulsory service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026

We were wearing matching unit hats: We served in different brigades within the same infantry division.

From Slate ● Apr. 1, 2026

If brigades were tied up as occupiers, they could not be reassigned quickly.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

This is a useful corrective for people who are being brigaded by Twitter trolls: Would you still be worried if a crowd of folks in a town you’ll never visit was booing your name?

From Washington Post ● Aug. 9, 2022

In many cases, it appeared that a post from one user would get shared by a friend into his or her network, where it would be brigaded by strangers.

From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2020

He calls for civil servants outside London to "be brigaded into local growth teams".

From The Guardian ● Nov. 9, 2012

While the idea of civil servants being "brigaded" to march in step to the localist tune is an entertaining notion, it will not liberate the power of local economies.

From The Guardian ● Nov. 9, 2012

The 3d Delaware regiment and Purnell Legion were at Frederick, and were temporarily brigaded with the 14th New Jersey, all under command of Col.

From Campaign of the Fourteenth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers by Terrill, J. Newton

What counts as sufficient coordination for a campaign to qualify as brigading?

From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2021

Facebook said that such coordinated campaigns, known as brigading, are a new area that the company is starting to police.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2021

So apparently YouTube doesn't understand how brigading works or why impact matters more than intent.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2019

There are almost ceaseless allegations, on both sides, of harassment, brigading, astroturfing and sock puppetry: terms that describe coordinated, oppositional online campaigns, the feigned impression of grassroots support and fake online identities.

From Washington Post ● May 5, 2016

In brigading the regiments no attention whatever was paid to the race or color of the men.

From The Colored Regulars in the United States Army by Steward, T. G. (Theophilus Gould)