platoon

noun

pla·toon | \ plə-ˈtün

, pla-\

Definition of platoon

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a subdivision of a company-sized military unit normally consisting of two or more squads or sections

2 : a group of persons sharing a common characteristic or activity a platoon of waiters especially : a group of football players who are trained for either offense or defense and are sent into or withdrawn from the game as a body

platoon

verb

platooned; platooning; platoons

Definition of platoon (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

: to play (one player) alternately with another player in the same position (as on a baseball team)

intransitive verb

1 : to alternate with another player at the same position

2 : to use alternate players at the same position

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about platoon

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Examples of platoon in a Sentence

Noun

will need a platoon of assistants to mount the display at the spring flower show

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Stehlik spent a year as an infantry platoon leader in South Korea in 2009. — Julie Compton, NBC News, "#Pride50: Alivia Stehlik — Transgender Army captain," 3 June 2019 Andrew Toles and Joc Pederson are the left-handed candidates for the left-field platoon. — Bill Shaikin, latimes.com, "Royals rout Dodgers, 14-8," 16 Mar. 2018 At the Broward County elections office on Friday morning, a platoon of about 100 teams completed the manual recount of more than 30,000 undervotes and about 450 overvotes. — Andrew Duehren, WSJ, "Manual Recount Under Way in Florida’s Tight Senate Race," 16 Nov. 2018 If that keeps up, Kapler could default to a strict platoon that would involve starting Williams against righthanded pitchers and Altherr against lefties. — Scott Lauber, Philly.com, "How Nick Williams began forcing his way into the Phillies lineup," 22 May 2018 Both are righthanded, taking away any platoon advantage. — Chandler Rome, Houston Chronicle, "Astros' Brian McCann lands on DL again, has surgery on knee," 3 July 2018 On the final two pitches of this at-bat, Scherzer overpowered one of the best hitters in baseball, who had the platoon advantage, with straight four-seam fastballs. — Michael Beller, SI.com, "Max Scherzer's New Cutter Makes the Nationals' Ace Even More Dominant," 16 May 2018 Perhaps JaCoby Jones makes the team and cuts into Martin’s playing time as a platoon. — Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Hints dropped on Detroit Tigers' batting order; who will hit second?," 12 Mar. 2018 On Friday, a platoon of about 50 female marines began training side-by-side with the men at the traditionally all-male battalion at a facility in Parris Island, South Carolina. — Samantha Leach, Glamour, "An All-Female Marine Platoon Will Finally Train Alongside Men at Boot Camp," 5 Jan. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

But the decision must be made whether Renfroe is better off platooning in San Diego or playing every day in Triple-A. Or perhaps his power and potential conjure a suitable trade partner. — Kevin Acee, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Crowded outfield is a sign of Padres' progress," 4 Mar. 2018 Companies like Peloton Technology are developing freight platooning systems that let large trucks follow one another at short distances to improve fuel economy. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "The future of urban mobility will be shaped by these six issues," 18 Dec. 2018 Jamie Hyneman, the former MythBuster, has engineered a firefighting tank that can be platooned and piloted remotely or even autonomously. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "The Tank That's Tougher Than Wildfire," 13 Nov. 2018 Volvo Trucks shows off its platooning trucks during a demo in North Carolina. — Aarian Marshall, WIRED, "This Week in the Future of Cars: Unconventional Wisdom," 1 July 2018 The Indians should consider platooning him more often - the numbers show that is needed. — Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Indians: Tyler Naquin's rise, worries elsewhere -- Terry Pluto," 13 May 2018 After the deadline-day deal, Mohammed became a key piece on the 2005 championship team, platooning at first with Rasho Nesterovic at center. — Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, "Spurs trade history includes several blockbusters," 26 May 2018 First baseman Eric Thames will be platooned at first base, playing primarily against right-handed starters. — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, "For Brewers, player surplus means start of season will 'suck for a couple of guys'," 26 Mar. 2018 The lefty hitter will platoon with Brandon Guyer while Chisenhall recovers. — Terry Pluto, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Indians: How they keep winning -- Terry Pluto (photos)," 14 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'platoon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.