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friendly fire

American

noun

Insurance. a fire deliberately set and remaining contained, as in a fireplace or boiler, from which any resulting loss cannot be claimed as an insurance liability (opposed to hostile fire).
(in military combat) fire, as by artillery, by one's own forces, especially when causing damage near or casualties to one's own troops.

friendly fire British

noun

military firing by one's own side, esp when it harms one's own personnel

"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

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.

"There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire," Pirro wrote.

From BBC • May 1, 2026

They include six aboard a refuelling aircraft that crashed in Iraq, an incident US officials said was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026

The incident was not due to hostile or friendly fire according to Central Command.

From Salon • Mar. 13, 2026

I've just read a press release from US Central Command saying that three US F-15E Strike Eagles have been shot down by Kuwaiti air defences in "an apparent friendly fire incident".

From BBC • Mar. 2, 2026

I didn’t want to hear it if she did, but I wasn’t eager to leave the lighted room where my family sat around the friendly fire.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

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