brigade

American  

[bri-gayd] / 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

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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

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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

County formalized a local brigade program — which has existed in various forms as guerrilla groups of good Samaritans for decades — in 2023.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

While others find peace through meditation and community dinners, Gibbs finds it through the brigade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

He appended his name, rank, location, and battalion and brigade names.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The brigade has now removed its cordon, and people are being allowed back into affected properties.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Percy had ordered out his entire brigade to watch, hoping it would cure them of any itch to desert.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

The government toughened prison sentences this month to up to 20 years, stepped up surveillance measures and increased the number of brigades deployed in a bid to tackle the issue.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

While Ukrainian troops aren’t training with his forces, they do work with the Latvian army and national-guard brigades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Hume said such situations should automatically trigger national resilience, when firefighters from brigades around the country are sent to assist.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Converting these “e-points” into money via the country’s Delta battlefield management network, brigades can then quickly purchase new systems directly from manufacturers, through a classified online marketplace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

It Had been two days since Papa came home and four since Ivette left with the brigades.

From "The Red Umbrella" by Christina Gonzalez

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

Lay, “Inspector,” reports from North Carolina that some twenty counties in that State are “disaffected;” that the deserters and “recusants” are organized and brigaded; armed, and have raised the flag of the United States.

From A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital by John Beauchamp Jones

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 poor we should be careful to make the best use of this knowledge by putting each as much as possible to the trade with which he was most familiar.

From Darkest India A Supplement to General Booth's "In Darkest England, and the Way Out" by Commissioner Booth-Tucker

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