friendly fire

noun

: the firing of weapons from one's own forces or those of an ally especially when resulting in the accidental death or injury of one's own personnel

Near the river bordering our camp I find the tents of the four soldiers who were supposedly hit by friendly fire.

—Janine Di Giovanni

After all, accidental attacks, though tragic, are common in war. In 1967 alone, "friendly fire" killed 5,373 Americans fighting in Vietnam.

—Michael Oren

Examples of friendly fire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Anecdotally as many of the losses are ‘friendly fire’ rather than enemy electronic warfare. —David Hambling, Forbes.com, 6 June 2025

In a statement late Friday, the department released a statement saying an investigation had reached the conclusion that Rivera was struck by friendly fire. —Madeline Buckley, Chicago Tribune, 6 June 2025

The legacies of San Francisco Supervisor Milk and Congressman Lewis will thus sustain friendly fire wounds, some 50 years after Milk’s murder and Lewis’ skull fracture. —U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 June 2025

By any definition, the aircraft carrier bearing President Truman’s name is having a disastrous deployment in the Middle East, featuring a collision with a commercial vessel and the loss of three combat aircraft including one to friendly fire. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for friendly fire

• acquire
• attire
• bonfire
• campfire
• ceasefire
• conspire
• desire
• enquire
• entire
• greenbrier
• gunfire
• homebuyer