sortie

noun

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sor·tie | \ ˈsȯr-tē

, sȯr-ˈtē \

Definition of sortie

1 : a sudden issuing of troops from a defensive position against the enemy

2 : one mission or attack by a single plane

3a : foray, raid

b : excursion, expedition diving sorties

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Examples of sortie in a Sentence

an occasional sortie to the city to rummage through some of its numerous used-book stores

Recent Examples on the Web On one Wild Weasel sortie near Baghdad, which Hampton describes in his book Viper Pilot, he and his wingman were diverted from SAM killing to intercept Iraqi helicopters attempting to spirit Saddam Hussein away from U.S. forces. — Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, 11 July 2021 This Fujiwara sortie for Moncler was extra-meta thanks to collaborations within the collaboration: there was a biker by the Brit brand Lewis Leathers and a Converse Chuck 70 and Jack Purcell. — Luke Leitch, Vogue, 6 July 2021 The Navy expects the Nimitz Class to sustain a sortie generation rate of 120 launches and recoveries over a twelve-hour flight day, and then sustain that level of operation for thirty days. — Craig Hooper, Forbes, 13 May 2021 The impressive sortie was part of a powerful American response to China’s month-long maritime occupation of a resource-rich reef inside The Philippines’ exclusive economic zone. — David Axe, Forbes, 16 Apr. 2021 But the bomber-integration sortie is a reminder that different bomber types can work together to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. — David Axe, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2021 The high sortie rate has been a problem for the Japanese air force’s F-15J squadrons, which are first in line to enforce Japan’s air-defense zones. — David Axe, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2021 On his next sortie, his group failed to find a target. — Ben Dooley, Star Tribune, 3 Dec. 2020 On his next sortie, his group failed to find a target. — Ben Dooley, New York Times, 3 Dec. 2020

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