firing squad

American  

noun

1. a military detachment assigned to execute a condemned person by shooting.

2. a military detachment assigned to fire a salute at the burial of a person being honored.

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firing squad British  

noun

1. a small military detachment formed to implement a death sentence by shooting

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Etymology

Origin of firing squad

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Arenales gallantly stepping up to support Espinal against a social firing squad sparked a flame between the two.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 15, 2025

Borrowing from what Justice Sonia Sotomayor suggested in 2017, we can’t know whether his death was “comparatively painless” or whether, as Denno says, South Carolina’s firing squad delivered a “swift and certain death.”

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2025

A woman from the Philippines who spent almost 15 years on death row in Indonesia and was nearly executed by firing squad is on her way home.

From BBC • Dec. 17, 2024

For her part, Ms. McDaniel has said Republican voters have grown tired of the “circular firing squad within the party” and said the RNC is a turnout organization that does not control candidate messaging.

From Washington Times • Nov. 15, 2023

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