squadron
squadron Lexical Profile
squadron Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An operational military unit consisting of two or more flights of aircraft, a detachment of warships, or an armored cavalry division.
"The aviation museum features historic photographs of the rescue squadron that operated along the coast."
Any large, organized group of people, animals, or things moving or working together.
"A squadron of pelicans glided effortlessly just above the cresting ocean waves."
• verb
To form, arrange, or organize into squadrons.
"The commander ordered the officers to squadron the vessels before entering the harbor."
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century from Italian 'squadrone', an augmentative of 'squadra' (meaning 'square' or 'battalion'), ultimately tracing back to Vulgar Latin '*exquadra' ('to square'). It originally referred to a body of soldiers arranged in a square formation.