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  • Special Forces
    Special Forces
    plural noun
    U.S. Army personnel trained to organize, instruct, supply, and supervise local forces engaged in guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency operations, and to themselves conduct unconventional warfare.
  • special forces
    special forces
    plural noun
    élite, highly trained military forces, specially selected to work on difficult missions
Synonyms

Special Forces

American  

plural noun

  1. U.S. Army personnel trained to organize, instruct, supply, and supervise local forces engaged in guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency operations, and to themselves conduct unconventional warfare.


special forces British  

plural noun

  1. élite, highly trained military forces, specially selected to work on difficult missions

"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.

Israeli air force special forces, trained to carry out commando operations in enemy territory, were also present on the base, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026

A Malian security source told AFP he had been "evacuated from Kati on Saturday and is in a safe location" at a "special forces camp" near Bamako.

From Barron's • Apr. 26, 2026

The Justice Department has charged an Army special forces soldier, alleging that he used one of the world’s ripest insider-trading platforms to profit off of advance knowledge of a military operation.

From Slate • Apr. 24, 2026

A US special forces soldier involved in the military operation that captured Nicolas Maduro has been arrested after he allegedly bet on the removal of Venezuela's former leader before the information was publicly available.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

They waded through burning waters and debris and lumbered ashore like nightmarish special forces.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia