troop
Americannoun
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an assemblage of persons or things; company; band.
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a great number or multitude.
A whole troop of children swarmed through the museum.
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Military. an armored cavalry or cavalry unit consisting of two or more platoons and a headquarters group.
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troops, a body of soldiers, police, etc..
Mounted troops quelled the riot.
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a single soldier, police officer, etc..
Three troops were killed today by a roadside bomb.
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a unit of Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts usually having a maximum of 32 members under the guidance of an adult leader.
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a herd, flock, or swarm.
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Archaic. a band or troupe of actors.
verb (used without object)
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to gather in a company; flock together.
- Synonyms:
- collect
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to come, go, or pass in great numbers; throng.
- Synonyms:
- swarm
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to walk, as if in a march; go.
to troop down to breakfast.
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to walk, march, or pass in rank or order.
The students trooped into the auditorium.
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to associate or consort (usually followed bywith ).
verb (used with object)
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British Military. to carry (the flag or colors) in a ceremonial way before troops.
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Obsolete. to assemble or form into a troop or troops.
noun
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a large group or assembly; flock
a troop of children
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a subdivision of a cavalry squadron or artillery battery of about platoon size
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(plural) armed forces; soldiers
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a large group of Scouts comprising several patrols
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an archaic spelling of troupe
verb
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(intr) to gather, move, or march in or as if in a crowd
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(tr) military to parade (the colour or flag) ceremonially
trooping the colour
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slang (tr) military (formerly) to report (a serviceman) for a breach of discipline
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(intr) an archaic word for consort
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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troopsimple
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troopssimple
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have troopedperfect
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has troopedperfect
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am troopingprogressive
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are troopingprogressive
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is troopingprogressive
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have been troopingperfect progressive
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has been troopingperfect progressive
Past
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troopedsimple
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had troopedperfect
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was troopingprogressive
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were troopingprogressive
-
had been troopingperfect progressive
Future
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; see thorp) + -el, ultimately from Latin -ellus diminutive suffix
Explanation
A troop is a squad or team of soldiers. Your great grandfather might claim that his was the first army troop to march into France during World War II. Though it's correct to use the noun troop in the singular form, it's more common to see its plural, troops. You can also refer to a group of Girl or Boy Scouts this way: "My troop won a prize for selling the most Girl Scout cookies this year." To troop is also to march, so a military troop might troop down the street in the Veteran's Day parade. The root word is the Old French trope, "band of people."
Vocabulary lists containing troop
Veterans Day Vocabulary
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Memorial Day: Words of Respect and Remembrance
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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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.
Appeared in the July 3, 2026, print edition as 'Hegseth’s Plan for Troop Cuts In Europe Was Nixed'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026
Troop bands playing music onstage, troops putting on military combatives exhibitions in the octagon, troops sitting, uniformed and visible, beneath the Claw to watch the spectacle in person.
From Slate • Jun. 16, 2026
Max Medellin, 12, of Troop 10 from Reseda salutes.
From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026
The 24-year-old, who was part of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, fell shortly after 19:00 BST while leaving the arena.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
He belonged to Troop C because the armory had a basketball court.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
