forced march

American

noun

Military.

any march that is longer than troops are accustomed to and maintained at a faster pace than usual, generally undertaken for a particular objective under emergency conditions.

forced march British

noun

military a march in which normal needs are subordinated to the need for speed

"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

Etymology

Origin of forced march

First recorded in 1760–70

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.

See Examples For:

forced march

The same logic dictates the "forced march" the hopefuls must undergo -- the final exercise required to earn the paratrooper's beret.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

One word encapsulates this forced march of slaves westward, along with a disproportionate part of the Black role in America’s economic emergence: cotton.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025

He had just arrived by bus from Pirot on the Serbia-Bulgaria border, he said, after a gruelling 25-day forced march across Bulgaria.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2023

The forced march ordered by Congress removed 80,000 Native Americans from the eastern United States.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 21, 2022

They came by at a forced march, their gaze fixed forward, their arms swinging high.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023