firing squad
Americannoun
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firing squads
plural
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a military detachment assigned to execute a condemned person by shooting.
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a military detachment assigned to fire a salute at the burial of a person being honored.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of firing squad
First recorded in 1900–05
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.
Their most famous works include “The Execution of Christ,” in which a firing squad of Mao’s take aim at Jesus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“These kids did an adult job, basically facing a firing squad every day,” her daughter-in-law, Libby Boyce, said in an interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2025
Randy Gardner, the brother of Ronnie Gardner, who was executed by firing squad in 2010, agrees with Antognini.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2025
The only sure fact for now is Mr Krieger – who had been facing death by firing squad – has been spared.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2024
It was a true account of the death before an American firing squad of Private Eddie D. Slovik, 36896415, the only American soldier to be shot for cowardice since the Civil War.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
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.
