storm troops

Save This Word!

plural noun Military.

(formerly) German troops specially chosen and equipped for carrying out assault operations.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of storm troops

1915–20; translation of German Sturmtruppen

His two regular bodyguards, both on leave from the Literate storm troops, moved quickly to range themselves on either side of him.
Null-ABC|Henry Beam Piper and John Joseph McGuire
A few days later the place where we were standing was under waves of German storm-troops.
Now It Can Be Told|Philip Gibbs
Behind them, as storm troops for counter-attack, were some of the finest troops of the German army.
From Bapaume to Passchendaele, 1917|Philip Gibbs
The Germans returned to the charge with forces estimated at three battalions, led by storm troops.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VII (of VIII)|Various

All the storm troops, including the guards, were in brand-new uniforms.
Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918|Various