shock troops
plural noun
1
: troops especially suited and chosen for offensive work because of their high morale, training, and discipline
2
: a group of people militant in pressing for a cause
Examples of shock troops in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Shackles, shock troops, windowless cells: How bad is Trump's favorite Salvadoran prison?
—
Jeff Mason, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
The reason why there were so many casualties despite a small number of battles is because North Korean soldiers were deployed as frontline shock troops in an unfamiliar open field and lack abilities to respond to drones, Lee said.
—Joohee Cho, ABC News, 18 Dec. 2024
Even the first stage of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine - on the pretext of protecting Russian speakers being maltreated - parallels Hitler’s sending shock troops into Czechoslovakia to purportedly safeguard German speakers along the Czech borderlands.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
The relationship went both ways, with Hezbollah fighters serving as shock troops that bolstered Assad’s flagging army — an intervention the group justified as protecting Shiite minorities and shrines in Syria from Islamist and jihadi factions in the opposition.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shock troops
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jeff Mason, USA Today, 14 Apr. 2025
The reason why there were so many casualties despite a small number of battles is because North Korean soldiers were deployed as frontline shock troops in an unfamiliar open field and lack abilities to respond to drones, Lee said.
—Joohee Cho, ABC News, 18 Dec. 2024
Even the first stage of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine - on the pretext of protecting Russian speakers being maltreated - parallels Hitler’s sending shock troops into Czechoslovakia to purportedly safeguard German speakers along the Czech borderlands.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
The relationship went both ways, with Hezbollah fighters serving as shock troops that bolstered Assad’s flagging army — an intervention the group justified as protecting Shiite minorities and shrines in Syria from Islamist and jihadi factions in the opposition.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for shock troops
Cite this Entry
“Shock troops.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shock%20troops. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share