squadron

English

Etymology

From Italian squadrone. See squad.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈskwɒd.ɹən/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

squadron (plural squadrons) (abbreviated to: sqn)

1. (obsolete) A body of troops drawn up in a square.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Those half-rounding guards / Just met, and, closing, stood in squadron joined.

2. (military, historical, army) A body of cavalry comprising two companies or troops, averaging from one hundred and twenty to two hundred soldiers.
3. (military) A body of infantrymen made up of several platoons, averaging from eighty to one hundred and fifty men, and led by a captain or a major.
4. (military, navy) A detachment of vessels employed on any particular service or station, under the command of the senior officer

   the North Atlantic Squadron

5. (military, air force) A tactical air force unit; consists of at least two flights; multiple squadrons make up a group or wing (depending on particular air force).
6. (US, military, U.S. Space Force) A spaceforce unit; multiple squadrons make up an operations delta or a support garrison.

Derived terms

• flying squadron
• intrasquadron
• squaddie / squaddy
• Squadron Leader, squadron leader

Related terms

• squad

Translations

army: body of cavalry

• Belarusian: эскадро́н m (eskadrón)
• Bulgarian: ескадро́н m (eskadrón)
• Catalan: esquadró (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 戰隊／战队 (zh) (zhànduì),

• Czech: eskadrona f, švadrona (cs) f
• Danish: eskadron (da) c
• Dutch: eskadron (nl) m
• Esperanto: eskadrono
• Estonian: eskadron
• Finnish: eskadroona (fi)
• French: escadron (fr) m
• German: Schwadron (de) f
• Greek: μοίρα (el) f (moíra)
• Hebrew: אֶסְקַדְרוֹן (he) m (eskadrón)
• Hungarian: lovasszázad (hu)
• Italian: squadrone (it) m
• Japanese: 戦隊 (ja) (せんたい, sentai)
• Korean: 전대(戰隊) (ko) (jeondae)
• Latin: turma (la) f
• Latvian: eskadrons m
• Lithuanian: eskadronas m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skvadron m

  Nynorsk: skvadron m

• Polish: szwadron (pl) m, eskadron m
• Portuguese: esquadrão (pt) m
• Russian: эскадро́н (ru) m (eskadrón)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: eskàdrōn (sh) m

  Roman: eskàdrōn (sh) m

• Spanish: escuadrón (es) m
• Swedish: skvadron (sv) c
• Ukrainian: ескадро́н m (eskadrón)

navy: detachment of vessels

• Belarusian: эска́дра f (eskádra)
• Bulgarian: еска́дра f (eskádra)
• Catalan: esquadrilla f
• Czech: eskadra (cs) f
• Danish: eskadre c
• Dutch: eskader (nl) n
• Estonian: eskaader
• Finnish: laivue (fi)
• French: escadre (fr) f
• German: Geschwader (de) n
• Hebrew: שַׁיֶּטֶת (he) m (shayétet)
• Hungarian: hajóraj (hu)
• Italian: squadra (it) f, squadriglia (it) f
• Japanese: 戦隊 (ja) (sentai)
• Latvian: eskadra f
• Lithuanian: eskadra f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: eskadre f

  Nynorsk: eskadre f

• Polish: eskadra (pl) f
• Portuguese: esquadrão (pt) m, esquadra (pt) f
• Russian: эска́дра (ru) f (eskádra)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ѐска̄дра f

  Roman: èskādra (sh) f

• Spanish: escuadra (es) f
• Swedish: eskader (sv) c
• Ukrainian: еска́дра f (eskádra)

air force: tactical unit of at least two flights

• Belarusian: эскадры́лія f (eskadrýlija), эскадры́лля f (eskadrýllja), эскадры́льля f (eskadrýlʹlja) (Taraškievica)
• Bulgarian: ескадри́ла f (eskadríla)
• Catalan: esquadrilla f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 中隊／中队 (zh) (zhōngduì)

• Czech: peruť f
• Danish: eskadrille c
• Dutch: eskader (nl) n
• Esperanto: eskadro
• Estonian: eskadrill, eskaader (rarer)
• Finnish: laivue (fi)
• French: escadron (fr) m
• German: Staffel (de) f, Geschwader (de) n
• Hebrew: טַיֶּסֶת (he) m (tayéset)
• Hungarian: repülőszázad (hu)
• Italian: squadrone (it) m
• Latvian: eskadriļa f
• Lithuanian: eskadrilė f
• Macedonian: ескадри́ла f (eskadríla)
• Malay: squadron
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skvadron m

  Nynorsk: skvadron m

• Persian: اسکادران (fa) (eskâdrân)
• Polish: eskadra (pl) f
• Portuguese: esquadrão (pt) m
• Russian: эскадри́лья (ru) m (eskadrílʹja)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ескадрѝла f

  Roman: eskadrìla (sh) f

• Spanish: cuadrilla (es) f
• Swedish: eskader (sv) c
• Ukrainian: ескадри́лья f (eskadrýlʹja)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Macedonian: ^{(please verify)} коњарство n (konjarstvo) (2)

Verb

squadron (third-person singular simple present squadrons, present participle squadroning, simple past and past participle squadroned)

1. (transitive) To divide up into squadrons.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “squadron”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)