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

The Western base in Erbil is controlled by the US but often houses other coalition forces including British troops.

From BBC

One of his first initiatives is an audit of battlefield losses -- ranking commanders based on casualty levels, in an attempt to address high levels of desertion among rank-and-file troops and the unpopularity of mobilisation.

From Barron's

"With a troop, you can win. Solo, it's hard."

From Barron's

When Bush went to the Patriot factory, Desert Storm, the massive military operation to drive Iraqi troops out of Kuwait was under way.

From BBC

Plus, about 140 U.S. troops have been injured in the Iran war, and Liza Minnelli dishes about her life.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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