close-order drill

American  

[klohs-awr-der] / ˈkloʊsˌɔr dər /

noun

Military.

1. practice in formation marching and other movements, in the carrying of arms during formal marching, and in the formal handling of arms for ceremonies and guard.

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Example Sentences

While in residence at Florida State University, she and her dancers, as part of their research, studied close-order drill with a local Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

From New York Times • Jul. 1, 2022

At one end of this therapeutic spectrum are such exuberant exercises in self-help as biofeedback and Transcendental Meditation; at the other end, close-order drill for the psyche, like est.

From Time Magazine Archive

So he marched the pages around & around the House cloakrooms in close-order drill until they were dead tired and fighting mad.*

From Time Magazine Archive

The onstage trumpets during the entry march of the minnesingers in Act II were like a close-order drill in their precision.

From Time Magazine Archive

By the time they were in grade school, close-order drill was as natural as breathing and as hateful as hell.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck