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

In this massive operation, however, Allied commanders became uncertain of the location of the doughboys of the Lost Battalion, who soon fell under attack from both enemy German artillery, as well as friendly fire from the Americans. —Alice George, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Nov. 2023

Courses of illness also tend to end more quickly, with less viral buildup, giving the immune system less time or reason to launch a campaign of friendly fire on other tissues, another potential trigger of chronic disease. —Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 18 Jan. 2024

If the immune system is an army, then those with conditions like lupus, multiple sclerosis, or rheumatoid arthritis are often fighting a never-ending war of friendly fire. —Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 21 Feb. 2024

Seventeen percent of Israeli deaths in Gaza occurred as a result of friendly fire or battlefield accidents, according to new data released by the IDF. —Josh Lederman, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2024

The incidents of soldiers killed by friendly fire were due to mistaken identification in airstrikes, tank shelling and gunfire, the Times of Israel separately reported. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2023

Of those 20 deaths, 13 were caused by friendly fire, or internal fire from the military's own troops. —Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 12 Dec. 2023

Police have launched an investigation to determine if the officer was hit by friendly fire by his partner. —Emily Davies, Washington Post, 22 Nov. 2023

Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Carli Lloyd have all offered a little friendly fire in the days since the United States’ scoreless draw with Portugal; their assessments, certainly, have been less glowing than those of the first lady, Jill Biden. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 4 Aug. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above