troop
Americannoun
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troops
plural
-
an assemblage of persons or things; company; band.
-
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.
-
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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troops,
present (3rd person singular)
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trooped,
past participle, past
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trooping
present participle
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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)
-
troops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trooped,
past participle, past
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trooping
present participle
-
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
-
a large group or assembly; flock
a troop of children
-
a subdivision of a cavalry squadron or artillery battery of about platoon size
-
(plural) armed forces; soldiers
-
a large group of Scouts comprising several patrols
-
an archaic spelling of troupe
verb
-
(intr) to gather, move, or march in or as if in a crowd
-
(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
-
(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
-
troopsimple
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troopssimple
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have troopedperfect
-
has troopedperfect
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am troopingprogressive
-
are troopingprogressive
-
is troopingprogressive
-
have been troopingperfect progressive
-
has been troopingperfect progressive
Past
-
troopedsimple
-
had troopedperfect
-
was troopingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
Yet the troop rotations and resupply efforts show that neither side is expecting Oleshky to be a blueprint for lasting respite in the future.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The statement came less than 24 hours after Kim Yo Jong announced Pyongyang had moved new troop units into "firing position" after a visit to the border.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
He shared radio frequencies, troop locations and detailed battle planning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The BBC has not yet been able to independently verify any of the reported troop movements.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
The troop of Fair Folk led the company down the vaulted corridors.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
In the fall of 1781, George Washington’s troops were hungry, penniless and demoralized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
There are 50,000 American troops in the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The coroner said there had been no effective regime for maintaining the vehicle which struck George and it was not routinely used for disembarking troops.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
By early next year, some of the new equipment will start making its way to troops, according to German security officials.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
General MacArthur and his troops land on the shore of Leyte Island on October 20, ready to fight alongside the Filipinos to defeat the Japanese.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
He then conducted an inspection of the troops and the colour of the regiment was then "trooped", or carried, through the ranks of foot guards.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
After some cheese and crackers and forced bonhomie, we all trooped back to our desks and then commuted home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
But he has fond memories of the looks on his kids’ faces as they trooped into his little dungeon to kiss him good night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2024
The colour, or regimental flag, which was trooped in the ceremony belongs to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.
From Reuters ● Jun. 17, 2023
They drove out there, checked the chlorine shed, toured the perimeter, then trooped into a little shack that had been set up with four cots.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
"People are trooping to the Hakimpur border check-post since Tuesday after hearing that crossover to Bangladesh is possible from this outpost," senior state police official Subrata Saha told AFP at the site.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
We're speaking on the morning after his ninth wedding anniversary, and there are builders trooping through the kitchen, so you'd forgive the singer if he was a little distracted.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2023
After trooping up to Capitol Hill again that month, Mnuchin predicted there would be a deal on a second stimulus package in 10 days — before the unemployment benefits expired at the end of July.
From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2020
But before the coronavirus outbreak sealed its borders, North Korea’s state media reported on a steady stream of select foreign diplomats, academics, journalists and delegations trooping up to the capital, Pyongyang.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 24, 2020
Just after sunrise, Rat said, she came trooping in through the wire, tired-looking but cheerful as she dropped her gear and gave Mark Fossie a brisk hug.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
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