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covering fire

British

noun

military firing intended to protect an individual or formation making a movement by forcing the enemy to take cover

"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.

Les Budding, 97, was 18 years old when he served on board Landing Craft Flak 34, charged with providing covering fire for the first wave of troops who stormed Sword Beach on 6 June 1944.

From BBC

He was mentioned in dispatches after being shot while providing covering fire to allow two comrades to get to safety.

From BBC

In another round, I placed a turret mine around the corner of a debris field, just in front of our frigate, providing covering fire that would hit enemy bombers in their blind spot.

From The Verge

“Under his covering fire the 5 soldiers were able to retire to safety,” reads the citation for his Medal of Honor.

From Washington Post

Marines sat in the bow of our launch to provide covering fire while we disembarked; which precaution seemed of little utility, for the docks were now empty of all enemies.

From Literature

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