sortie

[sawr-tee]

noun

1. a rapid movement of troops from a besieged place to attack the besiegers.

2. a body of troops involved in such a movement.

3. the flying of an airplane on a combat mission.

verb (used without object)

sortied, sortieing 

1. to go on a sortie; sally forth.

sortie

/ ˈsɔːtɪ /

noun

1. 1. (of troops, etc) the act of emerging from a contained or besieged position

   2. the troops doing this

2. an operational flight made by one aircraft

3. a short or relatively short return trip

verb

1. (intr) to make a sortie

Word History and Origins

Origin of sortie¹

1680–90; < French, noun use of feminine past participle of sortir to go out

Word History and Origins

Origin of sortie¹

C17: from French: a going out, from sortir to go out

Example Sentences

At least 40 people were killed and 300,000 forced to flee their homes as soldiers traded gunfire, fighter jets launched sorties and rocket barrages rained down.

Read more on Barron's

"Most of the sorties I flew were around 30 minutes long, so the discomfort was bearable. In the end, however, it was all part of the game and still enjoyable," he told me.

Read more on BBC

The jet first landed on 14 June at Thiruvananthapuram airport in the southern state of Kerala where it was diverted after it ran into bad weather during a sortie in the Indian Ocean.

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The aircraft was diverted there after it ran into bad weather during a sortie in the Indian ocean and was unable to return to HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy's flagship carrier.

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The other thing those sorties into the audience every night accomplish is that they bring people not just closer to the band, but also to each other.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• raid