death squad

noun

: any of various extremist groups whose members kill suspected political adversaries and criminals

Examples of death squad in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In 2009, a special supreme court tribunal sentenced him to 25 years in prison for authorizing the operation of a death squad responsible for killing civilians. Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 12 Sep. 2024 And yet Chiquita’s employment of death squads to protect its interests into the 2000s raises an uncomfortable question for the protagonists of 21st-century globalization, hunting around the Global South in pursuit of natural resources or other opportunities to exploit. Eduardo Porter, Washington Post, 1 July 2024 Right-wing death squads known as autodefensas formed an alliance with drug cartels—offering the cartel members protection in return for a cut of their profits—and declared war on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group, and its sympathizers. Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 June 2024 Smoke rises from cities; the highways are filled with walls of wrecked cars; suicide bombers dive into a crowd lined up for water rations; death squads, snipers, and mass graves dot the countryside. Alison Willmore, Vulture, 4 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for death squad 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'death squad.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of death squad was in 1873

Dictionary Entries Near death squad

Cite this Entry

“Death squad.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/death%20squad. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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