firing squad

American  

noun

firing squads plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• firing squads
  plural

Etymology

Origin of firing squad

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Granted, they have been gunning for his judgement too, in a circular firing squad about credibility.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 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

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

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

The firing squad, the hallway, the flat screens.

From "Legend" by Marie Lu