firing squad

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR firing squad ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

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

Nearby words

firing line, on the, firing order, firing party, firing pin, firing range, firing squad, firkin, firm, firmament, firman, firmer chisel

Origin of firing squad

First recorded in 1900–05

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for firing squad

Before going out at dawn to face the firing-squad he was calm.
Now It Can Be Told|Philip Gibbs
As if the men in front of her had been the firing-squad, each look a bullet, she pitched forward.
The Messenger|Elizabeth Robins
You had only to step from the car and leave me to take your place before the firing-squad.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Vol. II: In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians|Ambrose Bierce
Better this than the hand-rubbing grunt of the firing-squad returning to barracks after its labors.
Erik Dorn|Ben Hecht

He moved with the dignity of a hero who marches towards a wall to meet the bullets of a firing-squad.
The Money Master, Complete|Gilbert Parker

British Dictionary definitions for firing squad

firing squad

noun

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012