squad

Pluralsquads

Formssquads, squadding, squadded

1. 1
   sports teamnouncountable

   A group of players available for selection as starters or substitutes on a team.

   The manager included three young strikers in the squad for the cup tie.

   Injuries forced the coach to reshape the squad before the final.

   UsageA player is named in or makes the squad, and is then picked for the team.

   Similarteam, roster

   Note

   Selection talk in soccer, cricket and rugby turns on the gap between squad and team. A squad is named first, and the starting side and the substitutes are then picked from it, so a player can be in the squad and never take the field.

2. 2
   soldiers or policenouncountable

   A small group of soldiers working together as a tactical unit, or a similar team of police officers, usually about ten strong.

   The bomb squad carefully approached the abandoned vehicle.

   Her squad cleared the area before the operation began.

   UsageOften in compounds naming the job: bomb squad, riot squad, drug squad.

   Similarunit, team, detachment, section, patrol

3. 3
   group (shared aim)nouncountable

   A small group of people working together on a task or for a shared purpose, of no fixed size.

   The volunteer squad organized supplies for the shelter.

   Management assigned a new squad to handle the project.

   Similarteam, group, crew, band

4. 4
   emergency vehiclenounabbreviationellipsis

   Ellipsis of squad truck.

   Firefighters pulled the hydraulic cutters off the squad and went to work on the crushed car.

   Crews restocked the squad after the overnight call.

   Note

   Firefighters' shorthand: squad truck clipped to its first word. The full term names a rescue vehicle that carries equipment and personnel to a scene. Once truck is dropped, context has to do its work. A squad that is restocked or parked is a vehicle, not the unit of officers. Source

   Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • In firefighting, squad is an ellipsis of squad truck. en.wiktionary.org
   • A squad truck is a rescue vehicle that transports equipment and personnel to a rescue scene. en.wiktionary.org

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