# troop

Pronunciation: say "TROOP" US /tɹup/, UK /tɹuːp/

## Noun

1. A body of soldiers, or military forces generally; chiefly used in the plural.
   - Simple: Soldiers, or a group of soldiers. People most often use the word in the plural.
   - _The president promised to bring the troops home by the end of the year._
   - _A troop of soldiers stood guard at the bridge through the night._
2. A local unit of a national Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts organization, made up of one or more patrols of six to eight young people each.
   - Simple: A local group of Scouts, made up of one or more small teams of six to eight kids.
   - _The troop meets every Tuesday night in the church basement._
   - _Each patrol in the troop plans its own meals for the weekend campout._
3. A company or number of people of any kind; a multitude.
   - Simple: A group of people, often a large one.
   - _A troop of reporters followed the senator down the hallway._
   - _She arrived for the holidays with a troop of cousins in tow._
5. A band or group of monkeys.
   - Simple: A group of monkeys.
   - _A troop of baboons crossed the road in front of our jeep._
   - _The young male was driven out of the troop and wandered alone for weeks._
7. One person serving in the military. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: One soldier, or one member of an army. Many people think this use is wrong and say soldier.
   - _The news report said a single troop was injured when the convoy hit a mine._
   - _"We lost one troop and two trucks in the ambush," the spokesman told reporters._
8. A body of soldiers or police detached from a larger force, particularly in horse artillery, armored units, or a state police force.
   - Simple: A group of soldiers or police sent out together, especially gunners on horseback, tank units or state police.
   - _The general sent a troop of horse artillery to cover the river crossing._
   - _A troop of mounted police cleared the square before the parade._
9. A small cavalry or armored unit commanded by a captain, equivalent to an infantry platoon or company.
   - Simple: A small army unit of soldiers on horses or in tanks, led by a captain.
   - _Captain Reyes took command of the troop just before it deployed._
   - _Each troop in the squadron has its own tanks and scout vehicles._
10. A community made up of several meerkat families living together.
   - Simple: A group of meerkat families that live together.
   - _When a hawk flew over, the whole troop dived into the burrows._
   - _Two families from neighboring burrows joined to form one larger troop._
11. A company of actors who perform together; a spelling of troupe that is now generally regarded as an error. *(nonstandard)*
   - Simple: A group of actors who put on shows together. The usual spelling is troupe.
   - _The traveling troop of actors staged three plays in as many towns._
   - _Members of the troop rehearsed late into the night before opening._
12. A group of mushrooms growing near one another, but not so close together as to form a cluster.
   - Simple: A group of mushrooms that grow near each other, but not packed tightly together.
   - _In autumn the species fruits in troops on buried wood._
   - _A loose troop of ink caps had come up along the edge of the path._
13. A distinctive drum roll or a fast march.
   - Simple: A special roll of the drum, or a fast march.
   - _The drums beat the troop, and the companies fell in on the parade ground._
   - _The band struck up a troop, and the column stepped off at a brisk pace._

## Verb

4. To move together in numbers, or to come or gather in crowds.
   - Simple: To walk or go somewhere together as a group or crowd.
   - _The jury trooped back into the courtroom shortly after noon._
   - _Visitors troop through the old mansion all summer long._
6. To proceed onward as if marching, or to push ahead in a hurry.
   - Simple: To keep marching, or to move ahead quickly.
   - _With the light fading, the hikers had to troop on toward the ridge._
   - _He grabbed his coat and trooped off to the station without a word._

## Origin

Recorded in English since 1545, from French troupe and Middle French trouppe (from Old French trope, "band, company, troop"), both of Germanic origin, from Frankish *þorp ("assembly, gathering"), from Proto-Germanic *þurpą ("village, land, estate") and Proto-Indo-European *treb- ("dwelling, settlement"). It is a doublet of troupe, possibly also of thorp, dorp and trip, and is cognate with German Dorf ("village").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/troop (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).