Synonyms

Special Forces

American

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 British

plural noun

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.

Was it someone from Special Forces or the Navy or a Coast Guard vessel that happened to be nearby?

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025

Special Forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to his biography.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2025

They are led by former Special Forces soldier turned tech entrepreneur Yinon Weiss, according to a former senior Pentagon official familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

From Salon • Jun. 13, 2025

A UK Special Forces officer personally rejected 1,585 resettlement applications from Afghans with credible links to British commandos, newly released documents say.

From BBC • May 23, 2025

“Being Special Forces, the beret symbolized something just a little bit more. We were like peacocks; we strutted around and did the whole thing. Just full of oats.”

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

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