detachments

noun

plural of detachment
as in patrols
a small military unit with a special task or function the general sent a detachment ahead to scout the enemy's position

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of detachments His career spanned roles as Naval Security Group detachments in Japan and San Diego. — Julie Gallant, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2026 Additional police resources were deployed to the area from neighboring detachments, along with the North District Emergency Response Team. — Alexandra Koch , Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 11 Feb. 2026 The Israeli military has amassed two major groups of armored vehicles in Sheikh Radwan, to the north of Gaza City, according to the imagery, with additional detachments of armored vehicles stationed along roads that lead toward Israel. — CNN Money, 17 Sep. 2025 Although the much smaller Michino’o/Togitsu metal foundry detachments could not compete with the Ōhashi unit in terms of sheer noise and numbers, these girls were in high spirits this fine and yet‑too‑hot hot morning. — Literary Hub, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detachments
  1. troops
  2. battalions
  3. squads
  4. squadrons
  5. platoons
Noun
  • About 45,000 Japanese troops and 12,000 American service members are participating in the biennial Keen Sword 27.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In her hometown of Yefremov, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) south of Moscow and about halfway to the border with Ukraine, Masha’s teacher had asked the class to draw pictures supporting Russian troops.
    — Melissa Bell, CNN Money, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of troops
Noun
  • Mazor said the military recognized the scale of settler violence and has sent additional battalions to the West Bank to contain it.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Nor could Grossman write about collaborators or the punishment battalions composed of convicts that were used as cannon fodder (one of many parallels between the conduct of the Soviet army and the present-day Russian military in Ukraine).
    — Nick Holdstock, The Dial, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of battalions
Noun
  • The return for Overshown is expected to finally happen on Monday night when the Cowboys travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles in a pivotal divisional matchup between two 2-4 squads.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The pre-selection debates about three- or four-loss SEC squads and some team no one actually watches will prove incredibly tiresome, too.
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of squads
Noun
  • As the industrial age took hold, geometry continued to show force in the colonial infantries abroad and through isomorphic police squadrons that fit neatly into modernizing city blocks patrolled back home.
    — Sophie Landres, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The unit will work alongside existing RAF space operations and warning squadrons.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of squadrons
Noun
  • Its battery-electric vehicles propel themselves rather than relying on a conventional locomotive, and can operate individually or form coordinated groups, known as platoons.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The welcome ceremony also included a flyover by two B-1 bombers, platoons from each military service, and a presentation of the flags and anthems of both countries.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of platoons

Browse Nearby Words

detachment
detachments
detail
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Detachments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detachments. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All