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

“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

One insider to the process has told me she had already decided to resign because she didn't have confidence in the board and viewed them as a "circular firing squad".

From BBC

In 1867, as Paris withdrew support and Washington backed the nationalist cause, Maximilian drew his final breath before a Mexican firing squad.

From Los Angeles Times

Perhaps the lone exception in Eastern Europe was Romania, where Nicolae Ceaușescu — who had broken with Moscow years earlier — maintained a rigid dictatorship and cult of personality up until he faced a firing squad.

From Salon

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