squadron

American  

[skwod-ruhn] / ˈskwɒd rən /

noun

squadrons plural

1. a portion of a naval fleet or a detachment of warships; a subdivision of a fleet.

2. an armored cavalry or cavalry unit consisting of two or more troops, a headquarters, and various supporting units.

3. (in the U.S. Air Force).

   1. the basic administrative and tactical unit, smaller than a group and composed of two or more flights.

   2. a flight formation.

4. a number of persons grouped or united together for some purpose; group.

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verb (used with object)

1. to form into a squadron or squadrons; marshal or array in or as if in squadrons.

squadron British  

/ ˈskwɒdrən /

noun

1. 1. a subdivision of a naval fleet detached for a particular task

   2. a number of naval units usually of similar type and consisting of two or more divisions

2. a cavalry unit comprising two or more troops, headquarters, and supporting arms

3. the basic tactical and administrative air force unit comprising two or more flights

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-squadron
  noun
• subsquadron
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• squadrons
  plural

Etymology

Origin of squadron

1555–65; < Italian squadrone, equivalent to squadr ( a ) square + -one augmentative suffix

Explanation

In the military, a squadron is a small unit sent out from the main group to do some particular task. In the air force, for example, a squadron might fly out on a surveillance mission. This word comes from the military, but the meaning varies depending on the branch. In the army, a squadron is a cavalry (horses) unit that has at least two troops, which are smaller collections of soldiers. The squadron also includes a headquarters and support. In the air force, a squadron has at least two flights, which are the equivalent of troops. An air force squadron is smaller than a group and bigger than a flight in the basic chain of command.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

squadron squadrons

An array of military jets, including the Blue Angels, the US Navy's flight demonstration squadron, flew over New York Harbor, some leaving red, white and blue contrails.

From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026

“The arrival of our squadron dispelled the danger.”

From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026

The country’s minesweeper squadron is based in the port of Kiel on the Baltic Sea coast and includes some 12 minehunting and clearance diving vessels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026

A former commander of a pararescue jumpers squadron told CBS News that a rescue operation like the reported one in Iran would involve at least 24 pararescue jumpers scouring the area in Black Hawk helicopters.

From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026

Soon every member of the squadron was singing, turning toward each other with lifted glasses, their voices rising powerfully on the last four lines:

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

There is already more than 1,000 British personnel deployed in the region as part of existing defensive operations, including counter-drone teams and fast jet squadrons, the ministry said.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

PLA engineers could fail to get the technology to work in a real wartime scenario, making China’s robot squadrons easy for enemies to pick off or disable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

It operates 31 fighter and combat squadrons - mostly Russian and Soviet-era aircraft - far below the sanctioned 42.

From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2025

Something’s going on in the night sky in New Jersey, where I live: People keep reporting squadrons of drones flying around in the dark over their houses.

From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2024

Even men from other squadrons came one by one to conceal themselves in the darkness and pop out.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

Related Words

• armada
• battalion
• fleet
• squad