troop

American  

[troop] / trup /

noun

1. an assemblage of persons or things; company; band.

   Synonyms:

   crowd, group, body

2. a great number or multitude.

   A whole troop of children swarmed through the museum.

   Synonyms:

   throng, swarm, flock, herd, crowd

3. Military. an armored cavalry or cavalry unit consisting of two or more platoons and a headquarters group.

4. troops, a body of soldiers, police, etc..

   Mounted troops quelled the riot.

5. a single soldier, police officer, etc..

   Three troops were killed today by a roadside bomb.

6. a unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts usually having a maximum of 32 members under the guidance of an adult leader.

7. a herd, flock, or swarm.

8. Archaic. a band or troupe of actors.

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verb (used without object)

1. to gather in a company; flock together.

   Synonyms:

   collect

2. to come, go, or pass in great numbers; throng.

   Synonyms:

   swarm

3. to walk, as if in a march; go.

   to troop down to breakfast.

4. to walk, march, or pass in rank or order.

   The students trooped into the auditorium.

5. to associate or consort (usually followed bywith ).

verb (used with object)

1. British Military. to carry (the flag or colors) in a ceremonial way before troops.

2. Obsolete. to assemble or form into a troop or troops.

troop British  

/ truːp /

noun

1. a large group or assembly; flock

   a troop of children

2. a subdivision of a cavalry squadron or artillery battery of about platoon size

3. (plural) armed forces; soldiers

4. a large group of Scouts comprising several patrols

5. an archaic spelling of troupe

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verb

1. (intr) to gather, move, or march in or as if in a crowd

2. (tr) military to parade (the colour or flag) ceremonially

   trooping the colour

3. slang (tr) military (formerly) to report (a serviceman) for a breach of discipline

4. (intr) an archaic word for consort

Related Words

See company. Troop, troupe both mean a band, company, or group. Troop has various meanings as indicated in the definitions above. With the spelling troupe the word has the specialized meaning of a company of actors, singers, acrobats, or other performers.

Other Word Forms

• intertroop adjective

Etymology

Origin of troop

First recorded in 1535–45; from French troupe, Old French trope, probably back formation from tropel “herd, flock” ( French troupeau ), equivalent to trop- (from Germanic; thorp ) + -el, ultimately from Latin -ellus diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

How many troops could it involve, for how long, and doing precisely what?

From BBC

Beijing has said little officially about the war, beyond claiming its troops eliminated all Indian positions in the conflict zones, and has never commented on the battle of Rezang La.

From BBC

The Danish government, which has a longstanding defense agreement with the U.S., has said the U.S. could base more troops in Greenland and obtain new and improved mining rights.

From The Wall Street Journal

During World War II, the U.S. took military control of Greenland by stationing troops there.

From The Wall Street Journal

His comments come a day after the UK and France signed a declaration of intent on deploying troops in Ukraine if a peace deal to end the war with Russia is agreed.

From BBC

Related Words

• armed forces
• army
• contingent
• forces
• military
• soldiers