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

Staffers have in particular warned about friendly fire from Trump’s efforts to purge diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs from the federal government. —Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, 26 Mar. 2025

Other factors included electronic warfare, both from Russian and from Ukrainian forces, and co-ordination with air defence so their drones were not brought down by friendly fire. —David Hambling, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025

Kirkpatrick could not answer whether the officers may have been struck by friendly fire, saying that was something the FBI will investigate. —Daniella Silva, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025

Officials declined to comment on whether any injuries to officers or bystanders resulted from friendly fire. —Matthew Impelli, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 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