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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

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Following in the footsteps of his father and elder brothers, he joined the Gurkhas in 2003 at age 18 and joined the UK Special Forces in 2009.

From BBC Jul. 31, 2026

I have a relatively low stress response that "is almost Special Forces... you really are a cool customer I must say", says Bailey.

From BBC Jun. 22, 2026

Commandos for the National Guard Special Forces, or FERI, secured the training exercise area and rescued a "hostage" amid a haze of explosions, smoke, and rattling gunfire.

From Barron's Jun. 10, 2026

Special Forces in January was a deep blow to the Cuban military.

From The Wall Street Journal May 16, 2026

At daybreak the next morning, when Mark Fossie heard she was back, he stationed himself outside the fenced-off Special Forces area.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

He went on to join the British Army’s special forces.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 31, 2026

Katie Miller, wife of Trump’s deputy chief of staff, was dining with the president in January, hours before special forces captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, and noticed Trump was in a ruminative mood.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 8, 2026

Public rebukes followed Hegseth’s decision last month to effectively fire Gen. Chris Donahue, a respected four-star commander who came up the ranks through the special forces.

From Salon Jul. 7, 2026

The officer, the second highest ranking in special forces at the time, said another factor in the decision was that evidence had in part come via a rival special forces regiment.

From BBC May 28, 2026

There was a lot of Cong activity and the special forces guys in Cambodia were spotting convoys.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

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