frontline

front-line (alternative)
front line (alternative)


DEW line

(military, historical) A system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska.


tacops

Once developed, the TACOPS section reviews the ATO and SPINS for mission data (routes, A2C2 data).

2005, William R. Duggan, Coup D'Oeil: Strategic Intuition in Army Planning, page 52:

In his next assignment he served as the troop EWO; these duties led to his becoming the brigade EWO and, eventually, the brigade tactical operations (TACOPS) officer.

2005, W.R. Clemons, The Case for Consolidating Tactical and Operational Systems:

"Looks like Navcom is tied into TacOps," Miska said, peering over his shoulder.

(US, military) Abbreviation of tactical operations.

(US, military) Abbreviation of tactical organization paperless service support system.


WBC

World Boxing Council
w:World Boxing Council

(boxing) Initialism of World Boxing Council, one of several sanctioning bodies in professional boxing.


coastwatcher

(historical, military) Any of the allied military intelligence operatives stationed on remote Pacific island locations during World War II, to observe enemy shipping movements and rescue stranded Allied personnel.


rasante

en-adj

rasante (comparative more rasante, superlative most rasante)

more rasante (comparative)
most rasante (superlative)

From French rasant, present participle of raser (“to graze”).

(military, historical) Sweeping; grazing; applied to a style of fortification in which the command of the works over each other, and over the country, is kept very low, so that the shot may more effectually sweep or graze the ground before them


intervasion

en-noun

intervasion (countable and uncountable, plural intervasions)

(military) A military action consisting of armed forces of one geopolitical entity entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of intervention in some troubled situation.


veny

Alteration of French venue. Doublet of venue.

It is not, as at Fence, where the number of venies [tr. touches] given, gets the victorie: So long as the enemie is on foot, a man is newly to begin.

1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 47, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:


gunner

Cebuano: gunner

gonna (non-rhotic, based on the /ˈɡʌn.ə/ pronunciation)

From Middle English gonner; equivalent to gun + -er.

(military) An artillery soldier, especially one who holds private rank.


MOAS

(military) Initialism of mine and obstacle avoidance sonar.


AADC

area air defense commander
area air defense commander#English

(military) Initialism of area air defense commander.

air aide-de-camp
air aide-de-camp#English

(military) Initialism of air aide-de-camp.

anti-aircraft defense commander
anti-aircraft defense commander#English

(military) Initialism of anti-aircraft defense commander.

army air defense commander
army air defense commander#English

(military) Initialism of army air defense commander.; army air defense command.


AAW

(military) Initialism of anti-air warfare.


ABCCC

command and control
command and control#English

(military) Initialism of airborne battlefield command and control center.


bubble-head

bubble-heads (plural)
bubblehead (alternative)

(military slang, derogatory) A submariner.


Bent Spear

(US, euphemistic, military) A significant incident with a nuclear weapon, nuclear components, or nuclear-bearing vehicle.


Broken Arrow

In the US, the code name for a serious nuclear weapons incident is "Broken Arrow". It is US policy neither to confirm nor deny the existence of nuclear weapons at any specific location; this also applies to Broken Arrow incidents.

2004, Roland Everett Langford, Introduction to Weapons of Mass Destruction: Radiological, Chemical, and Biological, page 97:

(US, euphemistic, military) An accidental event that involves nuclear weapons or nuclear components but does not create the risk of nuclear war.


Broken Arrow

The FAC urgently sends over his radio a cry for help: "Broken Arrow! Broken Arrow!' His message unleashes all available close air support in South Vietnam on a priority basis.

2003, Jacques-François de Chaunac, The American Cavalry in Vietnam: "First Cav", →ISBN, page 48:

Before Caras could respond, the General threw down the mike, turned to his second and said, "Get them all the air support we have, everything. This is Broken Arrow"

2008, Terry Ryan, Bring Out Your Dead, →ISBN, page 137:

Broken Arrow refers to the U.S. military's code word used during the Vietnam War. This call was used only in the direst of tactical situations, when a ground unit was overrun by enemy forces. When "Broken Arrow" was heard on the radio nets, all available aircraft were diverted to provide close air support for the endangered command.

2010, Danny W. Davis, The Phinehas Priesthood, →ISBN:

All Pulse elements, this is Home Plate. Broken Arrow. I repeat, Broken Arrow. Forward command of close air-support operations is Rebel Four One.

2017, Kevin Ikenberry, Vendetta Protocol, page 155:

(US, military) A code phrase indicating that a ground unit is facing imminent destruction from enemy attack and all available air forces within range are to provide air support immediately.


PWA

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

Pro Wrestling America
w:Pro Wrestling America

(professional wrestling) Initialism of Pro Wrestling America.

Pro Wrestling Alliance
Pro Wrestling Alliance#English

(professional wrestling) Initialism of Pro Wrestling Alliance.

(professional wrestling, Canada) Initialism of Pure Wrestling Association.


patchery

patcheries (plural)
parcherry (alternative)
patcheree (alternative)
patcherry (alternative)

(UK, India, military, historical) Living quarters for married soldiers.


dubok

Borrowed from Russian дубо́к (dubók), from дуб (dub, “oak tree”).

And then there are the duboks. Every Red Army intelligence agent abroad is assigned the task of finding duboks in the city where he is stationed. A dubok is a hiding place for anything that may be exchanged in espionage work […]

1947, Hearst's International Combined with Cosmopolitan:

Meantime, in addition to the active agents, scores of others wait expectantly, always on the alert; scores of yavkas operate; scores of duboks are maintained; exchange of personnel goes on constantly.

1955, David J. Dallin, Soviet Espionage, page 509:

[…] was unable to remember the spy's cover name but he did not attach much importance to this, since, as he pointed out, cover names, like duboks, were changed from time to time.

1981, H. Montgomery Hyde, The Atom Bomb Spies, page 91:

His couriers should communicate with him through duboks – hiding places where messages could be left or collected, also called 'dead letterboxes' […]

2011, Chapman Pincher, Treachery: Betrayals, Blunders and Cover-Ups:


centerline

centerlines (plural)
centreline (alternative)
centre line (alternative)

You might already know that, I don't know, but since you are training at home I didn't want you to be weaving wildly on each side of the rope - the goal is to pop up as tight as possible to the center line.

2005 July 31, Vovchanchyn Fan, “Re: Bob and weaving drill”, in Sherdog (Usenet):

take his lead leg out from under him. Just dont it when he is going for a power jab, just make sure your heads out of the center line

2006 January 3, Justin Pressley, “Re: having problems whilst sparring”, in Sherdog (Usenet):

(martial arts, boxing) An imaginary line connecting the center of two fighters' bodies while they face each other.


JAFO

(military, slang) acronym of just another fucking observer/officer/operator


on your horse, amigo

Adaptation of Korean 안녕하십니까 (annyeonghasimnikka).


napoo

World War I British and ANZAC army slang, probably a corruption of French “il n′y a plus” (“there is no more”).

What shall I do? / My poor old dug-out is napoo.

1918 April, 'R', An elegy on my dugout, when it was done in, published in Four Whistles by D Company of the Scottish Officer Cadet Battalion, quoted in Graham Seal, The Soldiers' Press: Trench Journals in the First World War 2013 →ISBN

“[…] It seems scrounging for fuel ’ad reached such a pitch in the village […] But our washing ’ad to be done, ’an I thought if I got the whole of this football team scrounging they might find something as everyone else ’ad overlooked.[…]” / “‘Very well,’ says I, ‘San fairy ann. Napoo washing—napoo ball.’[…]”

1920 March 10, “Won on the Posts. (With the British Army in France.)”, in Punch, or The London Charivari, volume CLVIII, London: […] Bradbury, Agnew & Co., […], →OCLC, page 185, column 1:

‘Very well,’ says I, ‘it doesn't matter. No more washing—no more ball.’

One afternoon the corps was due to shift, so that morning the cook said to the Turco, giving him his farewell tin: 'Oh la, la, Johnny, napoo pozzy tomorrow.'

1929 November, Robert Graves, chapter XVII, in Good-bye to All That: An Autobiography, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 237:

The war was napoo, fini, and the Rhine the end of the journey.

1964, Pierre van Paassen, To Number Our Days, page 159:

(military slang, now historical) Finished, dead, no more, gone; non-existent.

‘Hey, Bill, where′s Charles?’ / ‘Napoo.’ / ‘What?’ / ‘Yes. He was out on a listening post and lit a cigarette. Sniper got him.’

1918, Hereward Carrington, Psychical Phenomena and the War, page 69:


napoo

en-verb

napoo (third-person singular simple present napoos, present participle napooing, simple past and past participle napooed)

napoos (present singular third-person)
napooing (participle present)
napooed (participle past)
napooed (past)

He will napoo the rations.

“The general says that if you are wise you will leave before the cannons come. Otherwise you′ll get ‘napooed,’ ” and he made an expressive gesture. “Compris?”

1918, Roland Pertwee, The Little Landscape: Everybody′s Magazine, volume 38, page 35:

I thought a man was lucky if he did not get napooed first trip in.

1918, Hereward Carrington, Psychical Phenomena and the War, page 68:

1984, John Masters, Man of War, 1984, US title High Command, page 230,
“No,” Merton said shortly. “We sit tight, they find us. If we both go wandering about looking for each other in the middle of the night, we′ll start a battle and the whole plan for tomorrow will be napooed.”

German planes had not only carried out a raid behind our lines, but a long-range shell had actually hit one of the Battalion cookers and “napooed” it completely.

1988, Sidney Rogerson, Twelve days, page 19:

(UK, army, slang) To finish; to put an end to; to kill.


napoo

“[…]Finish! Napoo!” and he spread his hands expressively, holding the cup upside down with the cloth hanging out of it, before he went on: “But it hasn't come to that yet.[…]”

1939, Ruthven Todd, Over the Mountain, published 1978, page 216:


proxy mine

2000: "twopinacoladas", review of The World is not Enough http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/review/R12476.html
In mid night departure (forest with the air control) base the frame rate ''SUCKS'' out side far worse then PD with 4 players 8 sims and proxy mines.

Proxy mines are always good because the computer doesn't seem to defend against them.

2002: "yc", Super Smash Bros. Melee: Marth http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/516492/18648

2004: "TerranRedneck", review of Custom Robo http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/review/R73394.html
Pods are like "little buddies" that help you out. Some buzz around your rivals head obscuring his vision and annoying him, some serve as proxy mines, while others simply bounce off the walls blowing up on the first bot they meet.

The proxy mines detonate when anyone comes near them (including the one who set the mine) and are absolutely wonderful for laying traps.

2006: "ProtectorOne", Perfect Dark: Multiplayer Scenario FAQ http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/n64/file/198275/43519

If you get too close it'll trigger. Shoot it from a safe distance and it will blow up. … Leave the room and go through the door that was previously protected by a proxy mine.

2007: "UnknownMercernary", Die Hard: Vendetta: FAQ/Walkthrough http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/gamecube/file/479800/47821

(slang, weaponry, video games) A proximity mine; a mine that explodes when something approaches within a certain distance.


very well

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-very well.wav

Conning officer: "Rudder amidships."

Helmsman: "Rudder amidships aye! Rudder now amidships."

Conning officer: "Very well."

(naval) A standard response by a superior to a report or confirmation.


AFRICOM

(US, military) Acronym of Africa Command.


DCA

dual-capable aircraft
dual-capable aircraft#English

(aviation, military) Initialism of dual-capable aircraft.


air marshal

(British, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, military) A military rank between that of air vice-marshal and air chief marshal, equivalent to an army lieutenant general.


embuggerance

It didn’t matter for them, the course was just a three-week embuggerance and then they’d go home for tea and medals.
…
We were sleeping with most of our kit on anyway, but it was a major embuggerance to have to pull on your boots, flak jacket and helmet and leg it down to the slit trenches.

1993, Andy McNab, Bravo Two Zero, from, published 2008, →ISBN, pages 27 and 80:

Jackrum stared at him blankly for a moment, and then said: ‘Well, now … it looks like what we have here is an embuggerance which, my lads of the Cheesemongers, is defined as an obstruction in the way of progress. I propose to deal with it in this wise!’

2003, Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment:

(British, military, slang) Any obstacle (natural or artificial) that gets in the way of progress.


CONOPS

(US, military) A statement or diagram describing how a military operation is to be carried out using the available resources.


OPCON

(US, military) Acronym of operational control, command authority that may be exercised by commanders at any echelon at or below the level of combatant command.


man up

man up (third-person singular simple present mans up, present participle manning up, simple past and past participle manned up)

mans up (present singular third-person)
manning up (participle present)
manned up (participle past)
manned up (past)

man + up, with influence from own up, buck up.

(military) (Of personnel) to assemble, each person manning (attending to) his station, prepared for the departure of an aircraft, ship, etc. (Compare man (“supply with staff; take up position to operate”).)


grognard

/ˈɡɹɑɡ.nɑɹd/

For quotations using this term, see Citations:grognard.

(military) A soldier or enthusiast in attention to detail for rules and regulations. Respected as an expert in things most people don’t care about.


air superiority

en-noun

air superiority (countable and uncountable, plural air superiorities)

(military, aviation) A dominance in the airpower of one side's air forces over the other side's during a military campaign.


softnose

soft-nose (alternative)
soft nose (alternative)

Questions that have arisen regarding the "stopping power" of the modern small-caliber bullet, particularly in view of the reduction of the caliber of the rifle in some services to 0.25 inch, or even less, have led to propositions to adopt soft-nose or "mushrooming" bullets, which will be deformed on striking an animate object, inflict a more dangerous wound, and increase the shock over that given by a hard bullet of the same caliber and weight, which would penetrate the body without deformation. […] The soft-nose bullet is inferior in accuracy, and is especially inferior in its ability to penetrate hard substances used for defensive purposes, making it almost useless to reach troops under cover that would be dislodged by the service bullet.

1897, “Seacoast Guns”, in Annual Report of the Chief of Ordnance to the Secretary of War for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1896, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 21:

When I got the rifle I shot a coyote in a trap, to see what effect the soft nose bullet would have. He was struck back of shoulder, and a hole torn, where bullet entered, about 3½ inches in diameter.

1898 September, A. A. Haines, “The Ideal Gun for Coyotes [letter]”, in G[eorge] O[liver] Shields, editor, Recreation, volume IX, number 3, New York, N.Y.: G. O. Shields (Coquina), →OCLC, page 216, column 1:

The soft nose bullet if it is fired and hitting any hard object, especially bone, it flattens and becomes distorted and is no longer round and has a tearing force with it.

1935 November 11, J. C. Shields, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States; no. 323), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], published 31 December 1937, page 184:

The softnose technique involved placing an inhibitor on a blaster, which allowed a laser to travel at slower speeds, actually penetrating the target. Initially developed for mining purposes, they were quickly adapted by some greedy weapons manufacturer.

[2002, Eoin Colfer, “Cruisin’ for Chix”, in Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Miramax Books; Hyperion Paperbacks for Children, →ISBN, page 35:

(firearms) Of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact, causing a large amount of damage; soft-nosed.

pehmeäkärkinen

of a bullet: lacking a jacketed nose and thereby deforming greatly on impact


softnose

softnose (countable and uncountable, plural softnoses)

softnoses (plural)
soft-nose (alternative)
soft nose (alternative)

Coordinate term: hollow point

The soft nose when it strikes a hard substance, mushrooms, would leave ten times as large a hole as a hard nose bullet striking the same substance. A soft nose bullet would leave a ragged edge.

1935 November 11, Clyde L. McNeil, witness, New York Life Insurance Company, Petitioner, vs. Stella Jane Gamer, as Executrix of the Will of E. Walter Gamer, also Known as Edward W. Gamer, Deceased: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States; no. 323), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], published 31 December 1937, page 215:

And get a couple of boxes of .40 caliber Glasers, too. And about a dozen boxes of .30 caliber softnoses for my SKS. You need some cash for all that?

2000, John W. Myers, “Can Your Home Fort be Defended if Attacked? Or, ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition’”, in The Crossland Shootpout: Adventures of a Photojournalist, Lincoln, Neb.: Writers Club Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 116:

The softnoses were just as quickly outlawed, for the obvious reason that these weapons were designed to kill, and not to incapacitate.

On the upside, I guess the sniper keeps the kids home at night. They're at that age where they prefer tear-assing around town to spending time at home. Judy's 15, and that means all she thinks about is boys. Too bad for her none of her knights in shining armor have been willing to risk a .270 Winchester softnose between the eyes.

2004 October 27, William Gussie [pseudonym], “Man, I Wish that Sniper would Go Away”, in The Onion, archived from the original on 2018-03-14:

(firearms, countable) A bullet of this kind; (uncountable) bullets of this kind collectively.

pehmeäkärkinen luoti

bullet of this kind; bullets of this kind collectively


DG

(military) Initialism of guided-missile destroyer, a type of destroyer warship.


shore leave

shore leave (usually uncountable, plural shore leaves)

(military, nautical) Free time given to sailors of the military navy when they are off duty and allowed to disembark and spend time on land.


bird colonel

From the insignia of rank, which bears a depiction of an eagle.

This month at 47, Colonel Polich retires after 20 years of service; as a reservist and an engineer, bird colonel is about the highest peacetime rank he can achieve.

1960 July 4, “Pink Is for Learning”, in Time:

(US, slang, military) A member of the United States armed forces having the rank of full colonel, as distinct from a lieutenant colonel.


full bird colonel

full bird colonel (plural full bird colonels)

(US, slang, military) Synonym of bird colonel


chicken colonel

chicken colonel (plural chicken colonels)

In 1944, when many of his West Point classmates—including Omar Bradley and Dwight Eisenhower—had won general's stars, Van Fleet was still a chicken colonel commanding a regiment.

1951 May 14, “The Face Is Familiar”, in Time:

(US, slang, dated, military) Synonym of bird colonel


CF

(Canada, military) Abbreviation of Canadian Forces.


HN

(military, US, nautical) Abbreviation of hospitalman.


HU

utility helicopter
utility helicopter#English

(obsolete, US, army, aviation) prefix for utility helicopter designations


UA

UA (countable and uncountable, plural UAs)

(military) Initialism of unauthorized absence.


KFS

(military) Initialism of knife, fork and spoon.


cook off

en-verb

cook off (third-person singular simple present cooks off, present participle cooking off, simple past and past participle cooked off)

cooks off (present singular third-person)
cooking off (participle present)
cooked off (participle past)
cooked off (past)

(transitive, US, military) To pull the pin from a grenade and wait two or three seconds before throwing.

(transitive, US, military) As above, except to unintentionally wait so long that the grenade detonates.

(transitive, chemistry, military) To cause an accidental detonation of explosives due to excess heat.

(intransitive, chemistry, military, of explosives) To accidentally detonate as the result of excess heat.


HMAS

The Defence Abuse Response Taskforce (Dart)[…]accepted as true allegations of abuse made by 207 former young recruits of HMAS Leeuwin at Fremantle, Western Australia, however it stopped short of recommending a royal commission.

2014 June 17, Helen Davidson, “Blackballing and blanket beatings: decades of abuse at defence training school revealed”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(initialism, nautical, military, Australia) His/Her Majesty's Australian Ship; the designation of Australian ships and naval bases.

(initialism, nautical, military, Australia) His Majesty's Australian Ship.

(initialism, nautical, military, UK, obsolete) His Majesty's Auxiliary Ship

(initialism, nautical, military, UK, obsolete) Her Majesty's Auxiliary Ship

(initialism, nautical, military, UK, obsolete) His Majesty's Armed Schooner

(initialism, nautical, military, UK, obsolete) Her Majesty's Armed Schooner


HMCS

(Canada, nautical, military) Initialism of His (or Her) Majesty's Canadian Ship; ship prefix of the Royal Canadian Navy

His

(UK, nautical, military, historical) Initialism of His (or Her) Majesty's Colonial Ship.


CCGS

Canadian Coast Guard Ship
w:en:Canadian Coast Guard Ship

(nautical, military) Initialism of Canadian Coast Guard Ship.. The designation for vessels operated by the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG).


UCMJ

Uniform Code of Military Justice
w:Uniform Code of Military Justice

(military, US) Initialism of Uniform Code of Military Justice.


knife rest

(military) A portable defensive barrier consisting of a frame covered in barbed wire.


STROG

Strait of Gibraltar
Strait of Gibraltar#English

(military) Acronym of Strait of Gibraltar.


FB

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of fighter-bomber (used as a prefix)


automatic rifle

en-noun

automatic rifle (plural automatic rifles)

(weaponry) A rifle that loads itself either from a belt or magazine; a machine gun. (Compare fully automatic rifles vs semi-automatic rifles.)


pavis

pavises (plural)
pavisses (plural)
pavise (alternative)
pavais (alternative)
pabys (alternative)
pavese (alternative)
pavesse (alternative)

From Middle English pavis(e) (paveis, pavas), from Anglo-Norman pavis (compare French pavois), from Latin pavensis, probably from Pavia in Italy. Compare Italian pavese.

For in this proceſſe, Parrot nothĩg hath ſurmyſed
No matter pretendyd, nor nothyng enterpryſed
But that metaphora, alegoria with all
Shall be his protectyon, his pauys and his wall

(military, history) Most usually, a very large shield fitted with a stand, like a small moveable wall, carried in front to protect all or most of the bearer's body that could be positioned independently of the user, such as a crossbowman, often with a projecting ridge running vertically down the center. However, smaller, more standard shield types were also termed as such, with the central verticle ridge as a defining feature.


military tactics

(military) The techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle.


MMA

MMA (countable and uncountable, plural MMAs)

Mark Zuckerberg shares photos from the hospital after undergoing knee surgery for a torn ACL suffered during MMA training.

2023 November 4, “Mark Zuckerberg tears ACL while training for MMA fight early next year”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

mixed martial arts
mixed martial arts#English

(martial arts) Initialism of mixed martial arts.


Cpl

(military, US) Abbreviation of corporal.


reloader

(firearms) A shooter who makes their own ammunition from separately purchased components.

(firearms) The equipment used by such a shooter, particularly a levered press used to force the components together.


AGM

air-to-ground missile
air-to-ground missile#English

(military, aviation) Abbreviation of air-to-ground missile.

artillery gun module
artillery gun module#English

(military) Initialism of artillery gun module.


Airedale

Intercepting the Japs the next day, the Airedales shot down ten Zeros and two bombers.

1945, United States Navy, Power in the Pacific:

The call will go out to the pilots, "Pilots, start your engines"; to the airedales, "Stand clear of propellers." As a plane is ready for take off it will have two airedales, one at each wheel, ready to pull the wheel chocks away.

1993, Anthony F. Zollo, USS Intrepid, page 97:

(US, military, slang) A member of aviation personnel.


Thor's hammer

Thor's hammers (plural)
Thor's Hammer (alternative)

kinetic energy weapon
kinetic energy weapon

(weaponry, slang, science fiction) An orbital drop hypervelocity kinetic energy weapon (KEW). A theoretical weapon, originating from a U.S. government study, Project Thor, from the 1950s.


body snatcher

body snatchers (plural)
bodysnatcher (alternative)
body-snatcher (alternative)

From body + snatcher. Later use highly influenced by the 1955 novel The Body Snatchers and its repeated adaptation into film, wherein aliens begin replacing humans with pod people.

ligrøver

One who secretly removes without right or authority a dead body from a grave

No men could have behaved more admirably than my Imperial bearer companies, or 'body snatchers,' as the men used to call them.

1917, General Buller, quotee, Military Medicine, volume 40, Association of Military Surgeons of the United States, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 341:

Freezing conditions in the hills make essential the quick evacuation of wounded, and their regimental mates are full of praise for the sterling job done by the cheerful, tireless “body-snatchers” of the Battalion.

1951, Great Britain. Army. Royal Army Medical Corps, Journal of the Royal Army Medical Corps, volumes 96-97, J. Bale, Sons & Danielson, Limited, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 410:

Tom dismounted and led Toby toward a group of men standing by a stack of stretchers. “Hey, you body snatchers,” he called out. “I have a wound that needs dressing.” He tied Toby to a stretcher.

2011, Robert W. Mackay, Soldier of the Horse, TouchWood Editions, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 185:

(British, military, slang) A stretcher-bearer.


cadetship

(military) The position, rank, or commission of cadet.


rasant

rasant fire


battle line

battle lines (plural)
battle-line (alternative)

"You say he is in Armstrong's rear, do you? Damn him! That's just where I have been trying to get him all day, and I'll be in his rear directly. Face your battle lines about! Armstrong, push your skirmishers forward -- crowd 'em both ways! I'm going to Starnes. You'll hear from me in about five minutes!"

1894, Dabney H. Maury, Recollections of a Virginian in the Mexican, Indian, and Civil Wars, section 17:

We did not catch them napping, but found a well-entrenched battle line confronting us.

1912 February–July, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Under the Moons of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “Through Carnage to Joy”, in A Princess of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., 1917 October, →OCLC, page 310:

That is the reason why I have asked you to take out and spread before you a map of the whole earth, and to follow with me the references which I shall make to the world-encircling battle lines of this war.

1942 February 23, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt's Fireside Chat:

1965, Hugh M. Cole, The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge, Chapter XX: The XII Corps Attacks the Southern Shoulder,
The German intelligence staffs again agreed that there was no immediate threat to the Seventh Army, and that the westward advance by the Fifth Panzer Army would necessarily force the Americans to strengthen the battle line there and prohibit any thrust into the deep southern flank.

(military, army) The notional line on either side of which opposing forces are arrayed, and at which they meet in battle; a fortified line, short of the line where battle is expected, and behind which forces are arrayed; a forward line of infantry or other force, prepared for battle.

aciēs

the notional line on which forces are arrayed on either side


cage match

(professional wrestling) An event in which wrestlers battle in an enclosed location, escaping over the top to win.


ranker

ranker (countable and uncountable, plural rankers)


sailmaker

From Middle English *sayl-makere, equivalent to sail + maker. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Sailmoaker, West Frisian seilmakker, Dutch zeilmaker, German Low German Seilmaker, German Segelmacher, Danish sejlmager, Swedish segelmakare.

(US, naval) An officer in the United States navy who takes charge of the sails.


YF

Combination of prefix F and prefix modifier Y

(US, military, aviation) prototype fighter (prefix)


PF

PF (countable and uncountable, plural PFs)

(US, military, aviation) Initialism of patrol fighter.


plongée

Borrowed from French plongée. See plunge.

the plongée of a parapet; the plongée of a shell in its course

(military) A slope or sloping down toward the front.


allonge

Borrowed from French allonge (“a lengthening”). Doublet of lunge.


interstage

thermonuclear weapon
thermonuclear weapon

(military) The components of a multistage thermonuclear weapon which channel the radiation produced by the primary's fission explosion so as to trigger the implosion of the secondary and ignite a fusion explosion in the secondary's fusion fuel.


réduit

(military, historical, fortifications) a fortified structure such as a citadel or a keep into which the defending troops can retreat when the outer defences are breached.

kavaljeeri

central or retired work within any other work


AIFV

(military) Initialism of advanced infantry fighting vehicle.

(military) Initialism of armored infantry fighting vehicle.


AMR

AMR (countable and uncountable, plural AMRs)

Coordinate term: anti-tank gun

anti-materiel rifle
anti-materiel rifle#English

anti-materiél rifle
anti-materiél rifle#English

(military, firearms) Initialism of anti-materiel rifle/anti-materiél rifle.


APCBC

armor piercing capped ballistic cap
w:armor-piercing shot and shell

(military) Initialism of armor piercing capped ballistic cap.


APCNR

armor-piercing composite non-rigid
w:armor-piercing shot and shell

(military) Initialism of armor-piercing composite non-rigid.


APCR

armor-piercing composite rigid
w:armor-piercing shot and shell

(military) Initialism of armor-piercing composite rigid.


ATGW

(military) Initialism of anti-tank guided weapon.


ATGM

(military) Initialism of anti-tank guided missile.


AVLB

armoured vehicle-launched bridge
w:armoured vehicle-launched bridge

(military) Initialism of armoured vehicle-launched bridge.

An armored vehicle that deploys a bridge in a motorized/automated manner.


AVRE

(British, military) Acronym of Armoured Vehicle, Royal Engineers.


chassepot

Surname of the French inventor, Antoine Alphonse Chassepot.

(military) A kind of breechloading, centre-fire rifle.


throwdown

throwdowns (plural)
throw-down (alternative)

Deverbal from throw down. Fight and music senses from earlier idiom throw down the gauntlet (“issue a challenge”).

(slang, wrestling) A fall, indicating defeat.


demilitarized zone

demilitarized zone (plural demilitarized zones)

demilitarized zones (plural)
DMZ (alternative abbreviation)

(military) An area, often on a border between military factions, in which military forces and operations are prohibited. (This sense is a translation hub.)


wet work

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-wet work.wav

Calque of Russian мо́крое де́ло (mókroje délo).

clq

мо́крое де́ло

2010, RED
Joe: Victoria was the best wet work operator the Agency ever had.
Woman 1: What does that mean?
Victoria: I killed people, dearie.

(espionage, euphemistic) A covert assassination performed by government operatives.


stylet

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-stylet.wav

From French stylet (“stiletto”), from Middle French stilet (“stiletto”), from Old Italian stiletto. Doublet of stiletto.


armed probe

(military) A military reconnaissance mission performed with heavy combat units where hostile contact with the enemy is expected.


non-commissioned member

en-noun

non-commissioned member (plural non-commissioned members)

commissioned officer
commissioned officer

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(Canadian military) A members of the Canadian Forces that is not a commissioned officer; includes warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and privates.


moton

From Middle English moton, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Old French, compare Norman moton (“chin”), from Old French menton (“chin; mentonnière, chinguard (of a helmet)”); alternatively, compare mouton (“sheepskin”).

cog

[…], the pauldrons covered the back of the shoulders, motons were worn over a gusset of mail at the right armpit, and the elbow-plates were of large size.

1848, Herbert Haines, editor, A Manual for the Study of Monumental Brasses … in the Possession of the Oxford Architectural Society:

(military, historical) A small plate covering the armpit in armour of the 14th century and later.


licorne

From French licorne, semantic loan from Russian единоро́г (jedinoróg, literally “unicorn”), in reference to the unicorn on the coat of arms of count P. I. Shuvalov, who introduced this type of artillery piece. Doublet of unicorn.

semantic loan

But I think our new 24-pounder howitzer will be found superior to any of them, not even excepting the Russian Licorne.

1824, “Answers of Sir A. D., K. C. B. of the Royal Artillery, to some questions from Lieutenant C. D. Bengal Artillery”, in The British Indian Military Repository, volume 3:

The Russians have a howitzer denominated licorne, the bore of which is, in its whole extent, the truncated frustrum of a cone: the only field guns in the possession of the artillery at Corfu, in 1822, were Russian guns of this description.

1837, T. F. Simmons, Ideas as to the Effect of Heavy Ordnance Directed Against and Applied by Ships of War, etc.:

Essentially a hybrid between a howitzer and a gun, thus a gun-howitzer, the licorne was capable of a flatter trajectory and a longer range than the conventional howitzer.

2007, Jeff Kinard, “Eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century artillery”, in Artillery: An Illustrated History of Its Impact:

(historical, military) A type of muzzle-loading gun-howitzer used by the Russian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries.


ground mobile force

en-noun

ground mobile force (plural ground mobile forces)

(US, military) A communications unit and their equipment; most often in reference to satellite communications.


donkey's ears

1916 UK, from British rhyming slang, rhyming with years, due to donkey’s ears being long.

(military, slang) A pair of scissor binoculars.


training wheel

From training (“relating to the moving of a firearm laterally so that it points in a different direction; relating to imparting and acquiring skills”) + wheel.

compound

(military, historical) A wheel forming part of the machinery of a cannon or a similar firearm which is turned to train or aim the weapon at a target.


SSBN

(US, military, nautical) Sub-surface ballistic nuclear: a nuclear-powered submarine carrying and launching ballistic missiles armed with nuclear weapons.


SSGN

(US, military, nautical) Subsurface guided nuclear: a nuclear-powered submarine carrying and launching guided missiles


SSG

SSGs (plural)
S/Sgt. (alternative)
S/Sgt (alternative)
S/SGT (alternative)
S/SGT. (alternative)
SSgt (alternative)
SSgt. (alternative)
SSGT (alternative)
SSGT. (alternative)
s/sgt (alternative)
s/sgt. (alternative)
ssgt (alternative)
ssgt. (alternative)

(US military, Navy) Initialism of subsurface guided: a diesel-powered submarine carrying guided missiles.

subsurface guided

(US military, Army) Abbreviation of staff sergeant.


HI-MEMS

(US, military) Initialism of hybrid insect micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS): A DARPA project to control insect locomotion by placing a mechanical system inside an insect.


MIS

w:Military Intelligence Service (United States)

(US, military) Initialism of Military Intelligence Service (United States).


active duty

Coordinate term: reserve

Sandie, the naval officer, left work because she had been called to active duty.

(military) A state in which person in the military performs military duties on a full-time basis, as opposed to reserve, where one only occasionally performs military duties.


sheep-dip

en-verb

sheep-dip (third-person singular simple present sheep-dips, present participle sheep-dipping, simple past and past participle sheep-dipped)

sheep-dips (present singular third-person)
sheep-dipping (participle present)
sheep-dipped (participle past)
sheep-dipped (past)

(US, espionage, transitive) To formally, and usually temporarily, transfer military equipment or personnel to nonmilitary ownership for the purpose of its employment in covert action which involves less of a risk of triggering an armed conflict.


SIGINT

en-noun

SIGINT (countable and uncountable, plural SIGINTs)

(a) Intelligence.—This includes SIGINT, ELINT and their Electronic countermeasures (ECM, ECCM, ECCCM and so on).

2002, Indian Journal of Strategic Studies, volume 23, page 163:

signals intelligence
signals intelligence#English

(espionage, uncountable) Abbreviation of signals intelligence.


MBT

MBT (countable and uncountable, plural MBTs)

main battle tank
main battle tank#English

armoured combat vehicle
armoured combat vehicle#English

(countable, military) Initialism of main battle tank (a type of armoured combat vehicle).


RCN

Royal Canadian Navy
w:Royal Canadian Navy

(Canada, military, nautical) Initialism of Royal Canadian Navy.


RAN

Royal Australian Navy
w:Royal Australian Navy

(Australia, military, nautical) Initialism of Royal Australian Navy.


IJN

Imperial Japanese Navy
w:Imperial Japanese Navy

(US, military, nautical) Initialism of Imperial Japanese Navy, the navy of Imperial Japan, predecessor of the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force, usually in reference to WWII.


IJN

Coordinate term: JS

(US, military, nautical) Imperial Japanese Navy ship, informal ship prefix used for a warship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, usually in reference to WWII.


PLA

People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army#English

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China#English

(military) Initialism of People's Liberation Army.

The national armed forces of the People's Republic of China.

Clipping of PLAGF, the national army of the People's Republic of China.

PLAGF

Thus, despite the downfall of the conservative military leadership of Wuhan as a consequence of the center’s suppression of the Wuhan Mutiny, subsequent developments indicate an increased reliance on the institution least desirous of continued Cultural Revolution disruption—the PLA.

1971, Deborah S. Davis, “The Cultural Revolution in Wuhan”, in The Cultural Revolution in the Provinces, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 159:

Suao is a strategic port designed to keep Taiwan’s access to maritime supply chains open in times of war, so Koh said it would also be priority targets of the PLA missiles.

2022 May 12, Minnie Chan, “Satellite images ‘suggest China is practising missile strikes on targets in Taiwan and Guam’”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 2022-05-12:


stonk

Uncertain. Possibly of imitative origin. Compare stomp.

(military, slang) A heavy artillery bombardment.


stonk

en-verb

stonk (third-person singular simple present stonks, present participle stonking, simple past and past participle stonked)

stonks (present singular third-person)
stonking (participle present)
stonked (participle past)
stonked (past)

(military, slang) To unleash a heavy artillery bombardment.


IFV

infantry fighting vehicle
infantry fighting vehicle#English

(military) Initialism of infantry fighting vehicle.


infantry fighting vehicle

en-noun

infantry fighting vehicle (plural infantry fighting vehicles)

armoured combat vehicle
armoured combat vehicle

(military) An armoured combat vehicle designed to carry infantry soldiers and provide fire support for them.

مَرْكَبَةُ مُشَاةِ قِتَالِيَّة

an armoured combat vehicle designed to carry infantry

kveiti ǯaris muxluxa ǯavšanṭransṗorṭiori

ქვეითი ჯარის მუხლუხა ჯავშანტრანსპორტიორი


armoured combat vehicle

armoured combat vehicle (plural armoured combat vehicles)

armoured combat vehicles (plural)
armored combat vehicle (alternative)

Taiwan’s military showed off its latest domestically produced armoured vehicle on Thursday, the CM-34 Clouded Leopard, at a remote manufacturing site in the mountains of the central part of the island.

[2022 June 16, Ann Wang, Ben Blanchard, “Taiwan shows off latest home-made armoured vehicle”, in Robert Birsel, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 2023-03-10, World News:

(British spelling, military) An armed and armoured military vehicle for fighting troops, which runs on wheels or caterpillar track.


ACV

ACV (countable and uncountable, plural ACVs)

(military) Initialism of armoured combat vehicle.


AFV

armoured fighting vehicle
armoured fighting vehicle#English

(military) Initialism of armoured fighting vehicle.


armoured fighting vehicle

armoured fighting vehicle (plural armoured fighting vehicles)

armoured fighting vehicles (plural)
armored fighting vehicle (alternative US)

(military) An armed and armoured military vehicle which runs on wheels or caterpillar track, used by fighting troops.


armoured car

armoured cars (plural)
armored car (alternative)

armoured fighting vehicle
armoured fighting vehicle

(military) A small wheeled armoured fighting vehicle.


tank destroyer

tank destroyers (plural)
tank-destroyer (alternative rare)

(military) An armoured fighting vehicle equipped with an antitank gun or missile launcher.


tankette

(military, historical) An early, very small, lightly armoured tank, with a crew of one or two, equipped with machine guns.


flying circus

Jagdgeschwader 1 (JG 1), the Red Baron's Flying Circus

(military, aviation, historical) A German fighter wing in World War I.


Red Baron

From Red Baron, nickname of Baron Manfred von Richthofen, who flew a red fighter.

Do you think you're the next Red Baron?

Billy Bishop was the Canadian Red Baron

He's another Red Baron

(idiomatic, aviation, military) A hotshot fighter pilot; an ace fighter pilot.


Immelmann turn

Named after the German pilot Max Immelmann.

(military, aviation, archaic) A WWI-era fighter pilot maneuver resembling the aerobatic wingover or hammer-head turn, originally developed by Max Immelmann.


penetrator

(military) A long-range fighter aircraft designed to penetrate enemy air defences.


AH

(US, military, aviation) prefix for attack helicopter, helicopter gunship designations


ray-gun

(science fiction, weaponry) Alternative spelling of ray gun


at ease

Calque of Old French a eise, from a (“at”) + eise (“ease”).

(military, marching) In a relaxed position with the feet apart rather than at attention.

At this command, the soldiers will carry their firelocks as they please, as prescribed in the soldier's drill, No 120, and are no longer required to march with the same step, or to observe silence ; the files will march at ease ; but they will be careful not to confuse the ranks, and the front rank must never pass before the guide, who is on the directing side, and that the two last ranks always preserve about three feet distance from each other.

1809, William Duane, The American military library:

If the column be composed of a considerable number of battalions, the commander can march it at ease, as a column of route.

1821, Pierce Darrow, Winfield Scott, Scott's Militia Tactics, page 133:

When marching at ease, you must march in orderly ranks in silence, but you need not keep step or march at attention.

1984, Wayne R. Gustafson, Military requirements for petty officer third class, page 3-28:

(military, marching) Allowed to refrain from being in rigid formation.

稍息

(military) allowed to refrain from rigid formation


RATO

RATO (countable and uncountable, plural RATOs)

(UK, aviation, military) Initialism of rocket-assisted takeoff., an auxiliary rocket engine in a detachable unit that provides extra power for the takeoff of an aircraft.


Kilroy was here

(military, c. 1940s) Inserted in the manner of graffiti in many remote and difficult-to-access locations to mark the presence of American workers or military personnel.


combat armor suit

combat armor suit (plural combat armor suits)

combat armor suits (plural)
combat armour suit (alternative)

(military) a powered, armed and armored exoskeleton, in fiction and military research


railway gun

(military) A massive and heavy mobile artillery gun, built, transported by, and fired from a specially designed rail car.

(military) An ironclad railway wagon with turrets mounted on it, as part of an armoured train.


TEWT

(military) Acronym of Tactical Exercise Without Troops: a wargame or training exercise not involving deployment of troops.


mess kit

Meronym: mess jacket

(military) A formal uniform, worn for occasions such as mess dinners.


smoothbore

(firearms) A cannon, gun or other firearm that has an unrifled barrel.


unrifled

(firearms) Having a bore with a smooth interior, i.e. one that has not been rifled


chicken wing

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-chicken wing.wav

(wrestling) A particular wrestling move.

(firearms) A 20th-century shooting stance where the two elbows are positioned inline with the neck.


trocha

(military, Latin America) A line of fortifications, usually rough, constructed to prevent the passage of an enemy across a region.


disengagement

disengagement (countable and uncountable, plural disengagements)

(military, politics) Withdrawal from combat, confrontation, or the assertion of influence.

There was a quick flash, a disengagement, a feint, a lunge that was like a man's, and as her long left arm shot out like lightning, her foil bent nearly double.

1895, Francis Marion Crawford, chapter 23, in Taquisara:

(fencing) A circular movement of the blade that blocks an opponent's parry.


tank park

In the carnage of that first summer the Red Army had lost its entire tank park of nearly twenty thousand.

1965, Alan Clark, Barbarossa: The Russian-German Conflict, 1941-45,, Harper Perennial, published 1985, →ISBN, page 189:

(military, metonymic) The tank inventory of a country or army.


zipperhead

From zipper + head. From the leather helmets formerly used by early Canadian armoured crewmen, with a pattern of stitching resembling a zipper. There is also a folk etymology referring to the zippers on armoured-vehicle crew suits (repurposed flight suits).

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-zipperhead.wav

(Canada, military slang) A soldier in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps or in the Armoured Crewman military trade.


zipperhead

1960s–1970s, zipper + head. Used by soldiers during the Korean and Vietnam Wars; multiple hypotheses exist as to the specific origin. One is that if an East Asian person were shot in the middle of the forehead with a machine gun, the head would split as if being unzipped; another is that the appearance of tire or tank tracks on a body which had been run over by a military Jeep or tank resembled a zipper.

(US, military slang, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) A person of East Asian descent.


plausible deniability

Originally CIA jargon from the 1950s, and popularized during the Watergate scandal (1970s).

Lieut. Col. Oliver L. North may have added a memorable phrase to the lexicon of political obfuscation at the Iran-contra hearings when he referred to his concern for "plausible deniability" as he carried out his covert activities.

1987 July 16, Meyer Rangell, “Letters: Deniable Plausibility?”, in New York Times, retrieved 2015-06-08:

Americans would stand out in the Laotian jungle, and Washington needed to retain plausible deniability. CIA officials demanded that Laotians on their payroll carry out the mission.

2001 June 24, Douglas C. Waller, “The Americans Left Behind”, in Time, retrieved 2015-06-08:

No longer is plausible deniability acceptable, either for boards or for management. Corporate and nonprofit boards alike are expected to know of problems that are brewing deep within their organizations.

2014 October 8, Davia Temin, “The Role Of Boards In Crisis”, in Forbes, retrieved 2015-06-08:

(politics, business, military, espionage) The organization of clandestine activity in such a way that knowledge of its existence may be denied by those in authority.


PMO

PMO (countable and uncountable, plural PMOs)

Provost Marshall Office
Provost Marshall Office


DDP

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

Diamond Dallas Page
w:Diamond Dallas Page

(professional wrestling) Initialism of Diamond Dallas Page.


CWO

chief warrant officer
w:chief warrant officer

(military, rank) Initialism of chief warrant officer.


tai chi

tai chi (usually uncountable, plural tai chis)

tai chis (plural)
taichi (alternative)
tai-chi (alternative)
taiji (alternative)

From Mandarin 太極／太极 (tàijí), Wade–Giles romanization: tʻai⁴-chi². Doublet of taegeuk.

zh-l

太極／太极 (tàijí)

Participants perform Tai Chi at a square in Jiefang District during a worldwide Tai Chi activity on October 18, 2015, in Jiaozuo, Henan Province.

2016 March 31, Alan Taylor, “More of the Chinese Art of the Crowd”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 2016-04-05:

(martial arts) A soft form of martial art developed in China.


sponson

sponsons (plural)
sponsing (alternative)

He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits ; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,[…].

1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

(nautical, aviation, military) A projection from the side of an aircraft, watercraft, or land vehicle.


sponson

en-verb

sponson (third-person singular simple present sponsons, present participle sponsoning, simple past and past participle sponsoned)

sponsons (present singular third-person)
sponsoning (participle present)
sponsoned (participle past)
sponsoned (past)
sponsing (alternative)

The belted cruiser Pamiat Azova or Remembrance of Azoff, is 377 feet long. She is an improved Dmitri Dontskoi, and carries her two 8-inch guns in sponsoned barbettes on either broadside

1899, John Scott-Keltie, editor, Statesman's Year-Book 1899:

(nautical, aviation, military, transitive, often with the particle "out") To mount on a projection on the side of a vessel.


FBS

en-noun

FBS (countable and uncountable, plural FBSs)

forward-based system
forward-based system#English

(military) Initialism of forward-based system.


CGN

CGN (countable and uncountable, plural CGNs)

(military, nautical) nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser (warship)


hypocentre

hypocentres (plural)
hypocenter (alternative)

From hypo- + centre; from Ancient Greek ὑπο- (hupo-, “under-, sub-”) and Ancient Greek κέντρον (kéntron, “centre”).

derived

(military) The point on the surface below an atmospheric explosion; ground zero


sand crab

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-sand crab.wav


yari

(weaponry) Any of various sizes of spear used in Japanese martial arts.


ASW

“You know, I really didn't have much to do with Vietnam. In the summer of 1964, I went to work for the assistant CNO for submarine warfare, Op 02. But that summer, Op 03—that's surface warfare—was developing new ASW strategies.”

1996, William Martin, Annapolis, New York: Tom Doherty Associates, published 2010, →ISBN, page 761:

(military) Abbreviation of antisubmarine warfare.


rebated

en-adj

rebated (comparative more rebated, superlative most rebated)

more rebated (comparative)
most rebated (superlative)

(military, of the rim of a firearm cartridge) Having a smaller diameter than the main body of the cartridge, from which it is separated by an extractor groove narrower than both.


victualling

The High Treasurer of the Armie […] hath […] the superintendencie of the victualling of the campe […]

1598, Robert Barret, The Theorike and Practike of Moderne Warres, London: William Posonby, Book 5, Dialogue 4, p. 164:

[…] Lieutenant Hirsch appeared with a sheaf of signals in his hand. He took these from the young man and read them through. Mostly they dealt with routine matters of the fuelling and victualling, but one from the Third Naval Member’s office was unexpected.

1957, Neville Shute, chapter 2, in On the Beach, New York: William Morrow & Co:

(especially nautical, military) The process of supplying food.

1624, Patrick Simson (editor), The Historie of the Church, London: John Bellamie, Book 2, Centurie VI, p. 361,
Zosymas a monke is commended […] for the miracle of the Lyon, who slew the Asse that caried his victualing to Caesarea, and likewise the Lyon by his mandate was compelled to beare that same burden which the Asse had borne to the portes of Caesarea.

He was oblig’d often to set upon the Enemy, and skirmish with them; for he wanted both Victualling for his Men, and Forage for his Horse […]

1693, George Smalridge, “Julius Caesar”, in Plutarch’s Lives, Translated from the Greek by Several Hands, volume 4, London: Jacob Tonson, page 459:

[…] as each man has a vote in all the affairs of his parish, and for his own sake must wish well to the public, the land is let in very small farms, which makes employment for a greater number of hands, and makes more victualling of all kinds be raised.

1796, Thomas Spence, The Meridian Sun of Liberty; or, the Whole Rights of Man Displayed and Most Accurately Defined, London: for the author, page 10:

(especially nautical, military) Provisions of food.


Death Valley driver

en-noun

Death Valley driver (plural Death Valley drivers)

(wrestling) A move in which the wrestler throws the opponent off their shoulders and falls in the direction that the opponent's head is facing, driving the opponent's head or back into the mat.


BOQ

B.O.Q. (alternative)
B. O. Q. (alternative)

(military) Initialism of bachelors' officers' quarters.


tommy cooker

(slang, military, archaic) The M4 Sherman tank, due to its likelihood to "brew up" and explode after being hit by German tank fire in World War II.


SLUF

(US, military, aviation, slang)(dated) Short Little Ugly Fucker, nickname for the Vought A-7 Corsair II jet fighter-bomber


Sturmvogel

(aviation, military) the ground-attack version of the WWII Messerschmitt Me-262 jet-fighter


NORAD

w:North American Aerospace Defense Command

(US, Canada, military) Acronym of North American Aerospace Defense Command

Commandement de la Défense Aérospatiale de l'Amérique du Nord

北米航空宇宙防衛司令部

ほくべい こうくううちゅうぼうえいしれいぶ


conventional weaponry

The French initiative calls for the elimination of chemical weapons, a ban on production of biological arms and the reduction of nuclear arsenals. As for conventional weaponry, the plan aims to establish "a balance of forces" in each region of the world.

1991 June 17, “World Notes FRANCE”, in Time:

(military) Destructive implements of warfare which are not nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological in nature.

常規武器 /常规武器

destructive implements of warfare which are not nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological in nature


traverse

From Middle English traversen, from Old French traverser, from Latin trans (“across”) + versus (“turned”), perfect passive participle of Latin vertere (“to turn”).

At night, when the Federal guns slowed their fire, the men created new traverses and bombproofs.

1994, Stephen R. Wise, Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863, page 160:

(military) In trench warfare, a defensive trench built to prevent enfilade.

keresztsánc

an angle in a defensive trench to prevent enfilade


traverse

en-verb

traverse (third-person singular simple present traverses, present participle traversing, simple past and past participle traversed)

traverses (present singular third-person)
traversing (participle present)
traversed (participle past)
traversed (past)

to traverse a cannon

(weaponry) To rotate a gun around a vertical axis to bear upon a military target.

(intransitive, fencing) To use the motions of opposition or counteraction.


pinfall

en-noun

pinfall (countable and uncountable, plural pinfalls)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-pinfall.wav

Cohen is best known for the confidence he displays on the wrestling mat, . . . stringing one move after another until he hears the referee's hand slap the mat to signal a pinfall.

2005 February 3, Jon Gallo, “Hammond's Cohen an Artist on the Mat”, in Washington Post, retrieved 2008-07-14:

(wrestling, countable) A victorious maneuver in which both of an opponent's shoulders are held against the mat for a prescribed period of time.


TER

(military, aviation) Acronym of triple ejector rack.


sonkyo

From Japanese 蹲踞 (sonkyo), from Middle Chinese 蹲踞 (MC dzwon kjoH).

(sumo) The calm, straight-backed squat, following the shiko exercises, in mental preparation for the tachiai


SDO

SDO (countable and uncountable, plural SDOs)

(military) Initialism of squadron duty officer.


counterbattery

(military) Directed against opposing artillery.


rouleau

(fortification) One of a bundle of fascines to cover besiegers.


plasma rifle

(science fiction, weaponry) An assault rifle-styled gun that shoots plasma.


count out

en-verb

count out (third-person singular simple present counts out, present participle counting out, simple past and past participle counted out)

counts out (present singular third-person)
counting out (participle present)
counted out (participle past)
counted out (past)

The champ was knocked unconscious and counted out in the third round.

en:determine that (a competitor) has lost a match

(transitive, boxing, wrestling, professional wrestling) To determine that a competitor has lost a match, by a referee's enumeration aloud of the increments of time for which the competitor has been incapacitated.


bouncing Betty

en-noun

bouncing Betty (plural bouncing Betties)

(military, informal) A land mine which is propelled a meter or two into the air before exploding to increase the amount of damage inflicted on surrounding troops.


ack

They had to begin at the beginning: learning the Morse code, flag-wagging, a succession of acks, and practice on the buzzer.

1929, Frederic Manning, The Middle Parts of Fortune, Vintage, published 2014, page 173:

(military, now historical) The letter A as used in signalling and other types of communications.


alert five

(military, slang) On an aircraft carrier, the state where fighters and crew are on guard, standing by in the aircraft, strapped in and ready to be launched in five minutes or less.


sap fagot

(dated, military) a fascine about three feet long, used in sapping, to close the crevices between the gabions before the parapet is made.


sap roller

(dated, military) A large gabion, six or seven feet long, filled with fascines, which the sapper sometimes rolls along before him for protection from the fire of an enemy.


snap in

en-verb

snap in (third-person singular simple present snaps in, present participle snapping in, simple past and past participle snapped in)

snaps in (present singular third-person)
snapping in (participle present)
snapped in (participle past)
snapped in (past)

(US, military) To practice aiming, adjusting and firing a rifle with no ammunition


JFTR

(government, US, military) Joint Federal Travel Regulation


buck private

Bedell Smith was a shopkeeper's son from Indiana who rose from buck private to general without the polish of West Point or a college degree.

2007, Tim Weiner, Legacy of Ashes, Penguin, published 2008, pages 15–16:

(US, military slang) A private soldier keen ("bucking") for promotion; an ambitious private.


at the high port

I raced across the desert, rifle above my head at the high-port. A man screamed, and throwing up his hands, rolled head over heels. I jumped over him and kept on running.

1943, Francis Jackson, Passage to Tobruk: the diary of a Kiwi in the Middle East:

If you mistakenly referred to your rifle as a gun, you found yourself doubling around the parade ground with your rifle in one hand above your head at the high port, and your other hand clutching your balls. As you ran you had to shout: 'This is my rifle, this is my gun, this is for fighting, this is for fun.'

2004, Peter Godwin, Mukiwa: A White Boy in Africa:

'Place your rifle at the high port! That means above your head Mitchell!' James lifted the weapon and held over his head as ordered.

2008, Angus Hyslop, The Plough, the Gun and the Glory:

(idiomatic, military, of a weapon) Held with two hands as in "port arms", but carried well above the head. The high port is often the position taught for running (at the double) or charging.


pankration

From Ancient Greek παγκράτιον (pankrátion, “all powers”). Doublet of pancratium.

der

(martial arts) An Ancient Greek martial art combining aspects of boxing and wrestling, introduced in the Greek Olympic games in 648 BC.


first lieutenant

en-noun

first lieutenant (plural first lieutenants)

first lieutenants (plural)
1st lieutenant (alternative)

lieutenant junior grade
lieutenant junior grade

(military) The second lowest rank of a commissioned officer in the United States Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps, ranking above a second lieutenant and below a captain. The rank of first lieutenant is equivalent to the naval rank of lieutenant junior grade.

(military) An equivalent rank in other military forces.


admiral of the fleet

admiral of the fleet (plural admirals of the fleet)

(military, UK) The highest rank in the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies, NATO grade OF-10, currently only ceremonial.

velkoadmirál

Top rank in the British Royal Navy; equivalent ranks in other navies — see also admiral, fleet admiral

(military, US, dated) Synonym of fleet admiral.


rear admiral (upper half)

rear admiral (upper half) (plural rear admirals (upper half))

United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard

rear admiral (lower half)
rear admiral (lower half)

(US, military, nautical) A flag officer in the United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, or Public Health Service Commissioned Corps of a grade superior to a rear admiral (lower half) and junior to a vice admiral. A rear admiral (upper half) is equal in grade or rank to an Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force major general. A rear admiral (upper half) wears a two star insignia on most uniforms and a gold stripe above a broad gold stripe on the sleeve of certain dress uniforms.

(US, military, nautical) A naval officer of equivalent grade or rank in the navy of other countries.


rear admiral (lower half)

rear admiral (lower half) (plural rear admirals (lower half))

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps

rear admiral (upper half)
rear admiral (upper half)

(US, military, nautical) A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a captain and junior to a rear admiral (upper half). A rear admiral (lower half) is equal in grade or rank to an Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force brigadier general.

(US, military, nautical) A naval officer of equivalent grade or rank in the navy of other countries, such as commodore.


XP

Combination of prefix P and prefix modifier X.

(aviation, military, obsolete, US) eXperimental, Pursuit, fighter (prefix)


cover story

"This is just a cover story," Clay says to O5-8, not taking his eyes off Marion. "It's a good one, but she's had it worked out in advance."
"Clay, lose the piece," says the O5.
Grudgingly, Clay does so.

2008–2021, qntm, “We Need To Talk About Fifty-Five”, in There Is No Antimemetics Division, →ISBN, page 9:

(espionage) A fictitious account that is intended to hide one's real motive.


MTB

MTB (countable and uncountable, plural MTBs)

motor torpedo boat
motor torpedo boat#English

(military, nautical) Initialism of motor torpedo boat.


round shot

Just then, with a roar and a whistle, a round-shot passed high above the roof of the log-house and plumped far beyond us in the wood. Treasure Island (1883), Robert Louis Stevenson

(military, weaponry) A solid, usually iron, spherical projectile fired from a smoothbore cannon.


solid shot

(military, weaponry, dated) A solid round shot or cannonball.


pitbull

pitbulls (plural)
pit-bull (alternative)
pit bull (alternative)

(military, aviation) NATO brevity code indicating a semi-active radar homing missile has begun active homing, and no longer requires its operator to maintain a radar track.


battle cry

Hear my battle cry, hear that mighty sound / They’ve come before, and many more will try to strike me down

2011, Shayfer James, “Battle Cry”, in Counterfeit Arcade, performed by Shayfer James:

(military) An exclamation troops yell out when going to war or battle.

شِعَار

something the troops yell out when going to war or battle


cold steel

Give them the cold steel, boys!

1863 (attributed) Armistead, Bri. Gen. Lewis A. (commander of the only Confederate brigade that breached the Union line during Pickett's Charge, Battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863)

In your native homeland a stranger you will be by the law of the rifle and the law of cold steel

1995, David Palumbo-Liu, The ethnic canon: histories, institutions, and interventions:

Yet the caracole had struggled against cold steel throughout the 16th century and had come off the victor.

2003, William P. Guthrie, The later Thirty Years War:

(military, archaic or historical) A sword, bayonet or similar weapon made of steel.


buttonology

From button + -ology. In the sense of pedantic systematization, a calque of Swedish knappologi with the same literal meaning.

“The [controller] that will go in theater . . . is just a tad bigger . . . but all the same buttonology, but it’s ruggedized for the environment,” Raulerson said.

2007 April 27, Carlo Munoz, “First round now under way”, in Inside the Air Force, volume 18, number 17, →JSTOR, pages 4–5:

Fielding the newer version of the system with or without the enclave is important to units slated to have DCGS-A because the newer version “is a lot more user friendly for our analysts, as it’s more in tune with Windows-type applications,” he said at the roundtable. What’s more, it features what he called new “buttonology” to which users are more receptive.

2013 January 3, Jen Judson, “Officials:: No Loss Of Capability For DCGS-A Without Top-Secret Enclave”, in Inside the Pentagon, volume 29, number 1, →JSTOR, page 11:

Any other adjustment concerns will pertain to the unique buttonology of the oscilloscope and will be covered in the owner's manual that comes with the scope when you purchase it.

2016, Steve V. Hatch, Computerized Engine Controls, page 191:


proximity mine

(weaponry) A mine with a proximity fuse.


boresight

(firearms, weaponry) A device mounted along the bore axis of a gun barrel for purposes of aligning the barrel with the gun's sights.


boresight

en-verb

boresight (third-person singular simple present boresights, present participle boresighting, simple past and past participle boresighted)

boresights (present singular third-person)
boresighting (participle present)
boresighted (participle past)
boresighted (past)

A holiday spirit prevailed throughout the task group on these special days; stationkeeping was a bit more lax, and gun crews were off-duty so that the gunners could lubricate, adjust, and boresight their guns[…]

2022 December 21, Drachinifel, quoting M. Dick van Orden, 11:52 from the start, in Typhoon Cobra - When the weather does more damage than the enemy, archived from the original on 2025-03-02:

(firearms, weaponry) To use a boresight to align a gun barrel with the gun's sights.


ronson

From Ronson, manufacturer of lighters, in reference to their 1940s jingle "Lights first every time".

(British, military, slang, obsolete) M4 Sherman tank - due to the proclivity of Shermans to burst into flames from a single hit


C-rat

(US, military, slang) Clipping of C-ration.


OIC

(military) Initialism of officer in charge.


HA

en-noun

HA (countable and uncountable, plural HAs)

(military, countable) Initialism of hospital apprentice.


CINC

(US, military) Abbreviation of commander-in-chief.


broken-backed

en-adj

broken-backed (comparative more broken-backed, superlative most broken-backed)

more broken-backed (comparative)
most broken-backed (superlative)

(military) Of a war or warfare: continuing after the main force has been destroyed or significantly weakened, for example after a devastating nuclear strike.


square bashing

(British, slang, military) Marching drills and other military exercises practiced on a parade ground.


parade ground

(military) A large area of firm ground, formerly usually adjacent to fortifications and now usually a paved area at a military base, where soldiers present themselves for inspection ("parade") and practice marching and close-order drills.

плац

an area of firm ground where soldiers are inspected and perform close-order drills


MDI

Mission Data Interface
w:Mission Data Interface

(software, navy) Initialism of Mission Data Interface.


picket line

From picket (“stake driven into the ground; soldier or small unit of soldiers assigned to perform a duty; protester positioned outside a workplace, etc., during a strike; the protest itself”) + line.

(military, rare) A barrier or fortification formed by pickets; a stockade.

(military) A boundary guarded by a picket (unit of soldiers).


PIP

en-noun

PIP (countable and uncountable, plural PIPs)

(military) Acronym of predicted impact point.


rear echelon

(military) That part of an army that is not needed to directly combat the enemy.

(military, by extension) The administrative and supply departments of an army.


right cross

(boxing) A cross (hook thrown over the opponent's punch) made with the right hand


stick to one's guns

en-verb

stick to one's guns (third-person singular simple present sticks to one's guns, present participle sticking to one's guns, simple past and past participle stuck to one's guns)

sticks to one's guns (present singular third-person)
sticking to one's guns (participle present)
stuck to one's guns (participle past)
stuck to one's guns (past)
stick by one's guns (alternative)

Capitan Beaulieu-de-Long and his first lieutenant were both killed, several guns dismounted, and many of the [French frigate] crew killed and wounded. . . . Nevertheless the French stuck bravely to their guns, while the flame of the cannonade illuminated the scene beneath the canopy of smoke.

1970, James Henderson, The Frigates, an account of the lesser warships of the wars from 1793 to 1815, London: Wordsworth, page 73:

(dated, military, of gunners) To persist in faithfully attending to cannons while under fire.


oorah

hoorah (alternative)
oo-rah (alternative)
oohrah (alternative)

(US, military) The official yell for the US Marines.


pogue

Alternative form: POGUE

2002, Jonathan Shay, Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming
Although he is noteworthy for the staff jobs he does for the commander in chief, Agamemnon, he's no rear-echelon pogue.

(US, military slang) Alternative form of POG (“non-infantry member of the military”)


autofire

autofire (third-person singular simple present autofires, present participle autofiring, simple past and past participle autofired)

autofires (present singular third-person)
autofiring (participle present)
autofired (participle past)
autofired (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-autofire.wav

(video games, weaponry) To fire automatically.


main battle tank

en-noun

main battle tank (plural main battle tanks)

main battle tanks (plural)
MBT (alternative)

(military) A tank with a good balance of firepower, cross-country mobility, and armoured protection, and therefore capable of carrying out the roles of breakthrough, exploitation and infantry support.


CMO

CMO (countable and uncountable, plural CMOs)

civil-military operations
w:civil-military operations

(US, military) Initialism of civil-military operations (“a military activity”).


piledriver

piledrivers (plural)
pile driver (alternative)

(professional wrestling) A move in which the wrestler applies a front waist lock, then drives the opponent's head into the mat by falling to his knees or backside.


MRAP

(military, US) Abbreviation of mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle.


WAC

(US, military, historical) Initialism of Women's Army Corps.


pre-dreadnought

pre-dreadnoughts (plural)
predreadnought (alternative)

(nautical, military, historical) A late 19th-century or early 20th-century battleship with a small number of big guns (typically no more than four) and a large number of quick-firing medium-caliber guns. It was made largely obsolete in 1906 by the dreadnought type of battleship.

Japanese battleship Mikasa
Pre-dreadnought battleship

קְדַם דְּרֶדְנוֹט

late 19th or early 20th century battleship


ground game

ground game (countable and uncountable, plural ground games)

He didn't show a lot of ground game in that fight, but his advantage was on the feet, so that's understandable.

2007 September 8, Scott Sherman, Gerald Harris, “Scott's UFC 75 picks”, in Salt Lake Tribune, archived from the original on 2008-04-05:

(martial arts) Hand-to-hand combat in which both fighters are on the ground, or skill in such combat


BOCAT

(military) Acronym of Baghdad Operations Command Advisory Team.


FS

(military, nautical, exonym) Initialism of French ship (a ship of the military of the Fifth Republic of France (used as a ship prefix)).


EXORD

(US, military) An execute order: an order to implement a specified plan.


CVE

(US military) Designation for an escort aircraft carrier.


common time

(military) The ordinary pace of marching, in which ninety steps, each twenty-eight inches in length, are taken in one minute.


hobelar

hobelars (plural)
hobeler (alternative)
hobilar (alternative)

(military, history) A type of mounted infantry, during the Middle Ages, who rode on hobbies.


execute order

CJCS Counterdrug Execute Order (EXORD) authorizes continued DOD support to law enforcement efforts to detect, monitor and interdict drug trafficking.

(US, military) An order initiating a military operation.


falconet

(military, historical) A light cannon developed in the late 15th century and decorated with an image of a falcon.


N/S

(Canada, military) Abbreviation of non-serviceable, used on tags attached to equipment needing servicing.


imbroccata

imbroccatas (plural)
imbrocata (alternative)

From Italian imbroccata, feminine past participle of imbroccare (“to hit a target”).


CDS

CDS (countable and uncountable, plural CDSs or CDSes or CDS)

CDSs (plural)
CDSes (plural)
CDS (plural)

(military) Initialism of chief of the defence staff.


Arnaut

From Turkish arnavut, from Ottoman Turkish آرناوود (arnavut, “an Albanian”).
Entered Ottoman Turkish from the Byzantine Greek ethnonym Arvanitis (Αρβανίτης) after the syllable cluster van was rearranged through metathesis to nav giving the final Turkish forms as Arnavut and Arnaut. Meanwhile in Greek the name Arvanitis was derived from the original term Alvanitis (Ἀλβάνίτης) as a process of rhotacism Alv- into Arv-. In return Alvanitis stems from the name Alvanos (Ἀλβάνος) Albanian, from Ancient Greek Ἀλβανοί (Albanoí).

arnauta

Albanian, especially one serving in the Ottoman army

Included under the generic name of Arnauts, it was recruited from Roumeliote Greeks, Albanians, Bulgarians, and Servians, who acted as body-guards to the princes, the great functionaries, and eve the simple Boyards [in Danubian Principalities, early 19th c.]

1844, Thomas Gordon, History of the Greek Revolution, 2nd edition, volume 1, page 1:

(historical, military) A Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian or Serbian soldier, recruited to serve as body-guard to officials in the 18th-19th c. Wallachia and Moldavia. Greek militia units formed in Crimea, 1769.


ULDUSTA

(military) Acronym of ultimate duty station.


possie

From position + -ie (“diminutive suffix”).

I'm just sitting in my possie, my place, waiting for something to happen.

1990, Matthew Kentridge, An unofficial war: inside the conflict in Pietermaritzburg:

'There is a beautiful odour in the possie where we are,' HG Clark wrote to his family...

2005, Matthew Wright, Western front: the New Zealand Division in the first World War, 1916-18:

Away from the firing line, these possies and dugouts could be made larger...

2006, Wesley Olson, Gallipoli: the Western Australian story:

(Australia, New Zealand, military slang, Digger slang) A firing position.


fragmentation grenade

en-noun

fragmentation grenade (plural fragmentation grenades)

(military) An anti-personnel weapon, thrown or otherwise propelled, designed to disperse shrapnel upon exploding.


MIRV

Picking up where we had left off at Vladivostok, we discussed verification of underground nuclear tests that each side could conduct, and also the rules for counting MIRVs — how to tell whether a missile had a single or a multiple warhead. There the Soviets granted a concession. If they placed a MIRV in a certain location, then we had the right to assume that every missile in that field had a MIRV capability.

1980, Gerald Ford, A Time to Heal, New York: Berkley Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 294:

The M.I.R.V. is a tactical nuke. Uh, fifty kilotons, nominal yield, say… five times Hiroshima.

1989, James Cameron, The Abyss (motion picture), spoken by Lt. Hiram Coffey (Michael Biehn):

(military) Initialism of multiple independently-targettable reentry vehicle; the independently targettable reentry capsule for a ballistic missile's payload, typically a nuclear weapon, where the missile has multiple instances of such.


MRV

multiple reentry vehicle
multiple reentry vehicle#English

(military) Initialism of multiple reentry vehicle: the reentry capsule for a ballistic missile's payload, typically a nuclear weapon, where the missile has multiple instances of such, but can only target one site with all reentry vehicles.


SLBM

The Circular Error Probable (CEPs) of SLBMs and SLCMs ought thus to be deliberately kept above the 'Hard Target Kill' (HTK) level.

1989, Marlies ter Borg-Neervoort, Wim Smit, Non-provocative Defence as a Principle of Arms Reduction:

ballistic missile
ballistic missile#English

(weaponry) Initialism of submarine-launched ballistic missile.


LRBM

long range ballistic missile
long range ballistic missile#English

(weaponry) Initialism of long range ballistic missile.


IRBM

intermediate-range ballistic missile
w:intermediate-range ballistic missile

(weaponry) Initialism of intermediate-range ballistic missile.


MRBM

medium range ballistic missile
medium range ballistic missile#English

(weaponry) Initialism of medium range ballistic missile.


SRBM

short-range ballistic missile
w:short-range ballistic missile

(weaponry) Initialism of short-range ballistic missile.


antiterrorism

Antiterrorism funding was increased after 2001.

(law enforcement, military, often attributive) Activity aiming at opposing or preventing terrorism.


cacolet

From French cacolet, from Béarnais Occitan cacoulet (“mule chair”).

(medicine, especially historical and military) A stretcher mounted on a pack animal similarly or singly.


LPC

LPC (countable and uncountable, plural LPCs)

personnel carrier
personnel carrier#English

(military, slang, humorous) Initialism of leather personnel carrier: a soldier's boot


catastrophic kill

catastrophic kill (plural catastrophic kills)

(military, slang) An instance of damaging a vehicle by weaponry that renders it both unusable and unrepairable.

katastrofinis sunaikinimas

damage inflicted on a vehicle by a weapon that renders it both unusable and unrepairable


generalcy

(military) The rank or office of a general.


definitize

en-verb

definitize (third-person singular simple present definitizes, present participle definitizing, simple past and past participle definitized)

definitizes (present singular third-person)
definitizing (participle present)
definitized (participle past)
definitized (past)

As before, in order to definitize the solution, an initial condition is needed.

2005, Alpha Chiang, Kevin Wainwright, Fundamental Methods of Mathematical Economics, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill International, page 548:

(transitive, US military) To make (a contract, plan, or the like) definite.


flag carrier

(military, nautical) An aircraft carrier serving as a flagship.


rope-a-dope

He sounded like a retired boxer who'd specialized in the rope-a-dope.

I went into my own version of Ali's rope-a-dope, ducking as many of the heavy blows as I could, and waiting for some kind of idea to come to me.

(boxing) A technique in which the boxer assumes a defensive stance against the ropes and absorbs an opponent's blows, hoping to exploit eventual tiredness or a mistake.


dogfighting

dog fighting (alternative)
dog-fighting (alternative)

Here, in fighter-pilot language, you're taught the real essential — dogfighting, man-against-man, plane-against-plane — and in a way they never taught us.

1972 February 27, Kevin V. Brown, “Space-Age Dogfighting”, in Popular Science, page 74:

(military, aviation) Close combat between two military aircraft.


weapons tight

(military) An order that weapons may only be fired at targets (especially aircraft or missiles) that are positively identified as hostile.


weapons free

(military) An order that weapons may be fired at targets (especially aircraft or missiles) that are not positively identified as friendly.


weapons hold

(military) An order that weapons may be fired at targets (especially aircraft or missiles) only when under attack, or in response to a formal order.


post-kinetic

These village kits were created to support the rifle companies in their post-kinetic activities, leader engagements, and mitigation of combat operations.

2007, Peter Pigott, Canada in Afghanistan: The War So Far:

...the speed necessary for post-kinetic stabilization in Baghdad and Anbar.

2007, United States Congress, Securing America's Interest in Iraq:

...we work with the Special Forces on post-kinetic security...

2008, United States Congress, Deconstructing Reconstruction:

(military, euphemistic) Following destructive warfare.


fire mission

(military) A communication between the fire direction center (FDC) and an observer to direct artillery on a target.


firepower kill

(military, slang) The damage inflicted by a weapon on a vehicle that destroys its weapon systems, or substantially reduces its ability to deliver weapons accurately, but does not significantly affect its ability to move.


hangar queen

hangar queens (plural)
hangar-queen (alternative)

In the Air Forces, "Hangar Queen" is not a proud title. It refers to any grounded plane which is being systematically "cannibalized" (stripped of its parts) so that other planes may fly.

1944 January 10, “‘Hangar Queen’”, in Time, retrieved 2008-07-12:

(idiomatic, slang, military, aviation) A grounded aircraft which is kept so that its parts can be used in other aircraft.


smart money

The reader may remember that Mr Allworthy gave Tom Jones a little horse, as a kind of smart-money for the punishment which he imagined he had suffered innocently.

1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

(military, historical) Money allowed to soldiers or sailors, in the English service, for wounds and injuries received; also, a sum paid by a recruit, previous to being sworn in, to procure his release from service.


firebase

firebases (plural)
fire-base (alternative)
fire base (alternative)

They had each set up a one-tank firebase, and become the center of a small community. Behind the sandbagged fort that each crew had built, a cluster of refugee huts and sprung up, and now, as the company drove by, these were the scenes of farewells.

1986, Ralph Zumbro, “Road to Pleiku”, in Tank Sergeant, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 102:

US ground troop operations in the A Shau Valley were strengthened by fire support bases strategically located throughout the area. Firebase names like Eagle's Nest, Berchtesgaden, and Currahee evoked connections to the 101st Airborne's storied past during WWII. […] Our assignment after Hamburger Hill was at Firebase Airborne. […] The firebase housed batteries of 60mm and 81mm mortars, as well as 105mm and 155mm artillery pieces manned by units of the 211st and 319th Field Artillery.

2005, Arthur Wiknik, Jr., “The A Shau Valley”, in Nam-sense: Surviving Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division, Drexel Hill, Pa., Newbury, Berkshire: Casemate Publishers, →ISBN, page 55:

Firebase Birmingham seemed pretty nice after our recent field experiences and it was good to be back. It was really great to be able to take a shower every day, wear relatively clean fatigues and eat hot chow most of the time. The food on Birmingham and the rest of the firebases was generally pretty good.

2008, John A. Nesse, “Firebase Gastogne”, in The Ghosts of Thua Thien: An American Soldier's Memoir of Vietnam, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 79:

(military) An encampment designed to provide indirect artillery support to infantry troops operating beyond the normal range of fire support from their own base camps; a fire support base.

Firebase Phoenix
Korangal Valley
United States Army


abattage

abattages (plural)
abatage (alternative)

(military) The anchoring of the wheels of an artillery piece, preparatory to firing.


striper

* (device): From stripe (verb) + -er (agent noun suffix).
* (fish): From stripe (noun) + -er (relational suffix).
* (military): From stripe (noun) + -er (suffix denoting a person to whom a certain number of something applies).

suffix

er<id:agent noun><pos:agent noun suffix>

He's a four-striper, a group captain.

1956, Louis Reichers, The Flying Years, page 110:

(military, in combination) A person who is authorized to wear a certain number of stripes on his or her uniform.


laydown

en-noun

laydown (countable and uncountable, plural laydowns)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-laydown.wav

The offense could contrive a variety of laydowns to intensify the defense's problems.

1984, Ashton B. Carter et al., Ballistic Missile Defense, →ISBN, page 141:


hakapik

hakapiks (plural)
hakapick (alternative)
hackapik (alternative)
hackapick (alternative)

From Norwegian Nynorsk hakapik, from hake (“hook”) + pik (“spike”).

(weaponry) A hunting implement, a long pole with a pick and hammer on the end, used by sealers to bludgeon seals and drag their carcasses to the sealing boat.


jark

en-verb

jark (third-person singular simple present jarks, present participle jarking, simple past and past participle jarked)

jarks (present singular third-person)
jarking (participle present)
jarked (participle past)
jarked (past)

At the end of the day, it was inevitable that the IRA would discover that its weapons were being jarked.

1996, Andy McNab, Immediate Action, page 365:

'Anna' and 'Mary' were involved in operations that drew on a variety of intelligence data: ‘jarking’; information from agents;[…]One of the weapons, perhaps the Armalite, had been ‘jarked’ by the ‘Det’ and tracked for some time.

2001, Peter Taylor, Brits:the War Against the IRA, page 255:

An especially creative method was known as “jarking,” which involved “the placing of tiny tracking devices on weapons in arms caches so their movements can be followed.”⁸

2010, Christopher C. Harmon, Andrew N. Pratt, Sebastian Gorka, Toward a Grand Strategy Against Terrorism, page 197:

The homes and safe houses he provided were bugged; the weapons hidden in empty houses were ‘jarked’ so the security forces could keep track of them, and the vehicles used to ferry weapons put under close surveillance.

2010, Ed Moloney, Voices from the Grave: Two Men's War in Ireland, page 282:

(slang, military, British) To modify (weaponry) to disadvantage; especially, to attach a tracking device to and covertly monitor the location of (a weapon).


mission kill

(military, slang) An attack or damage inflicted by a weapon that does not destroy a military vehicle but results in it taking no further part in its intended mission.


mobility kill

armoured fighting vehicle
armoured fighting vehicle

(military, slang) The damage inflicted by a weapon on a vehicle that immobilises it, but does not totally destroy it, leaving the vehicle's crew able to use its weapons. Typically this term is used to refer to tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles that have their engines, tracks, or running gear damaged.


PLAN

People's Liberation Army Navy
w:People's Liberation Army Navy

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China#English

(nautical, military) Abbreviation of People's Liberation Army Navy. The national navy of the People's Republic of China.


People's Liberation Army

Calque of Chinese 人民解放軍 /人民解放军 (rénmín jiěfàngjūn).

calque

People's Liberation Army Ground Force
People's Liberation Army Ground Force

People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China

(military) People's Liberation Army Ground Force, the army branch of the military arm of the People's Republic of China.

ჩინეთის სახალხო-განმანთავისუფლებელი არმია

dulimbai gurun niyalma irgen sulambushūn cooha

ᡩᡠᠯᡳᠮᠪᠠᡳ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ ᠨᡳᠶᠠᠯᠮᠠ ᡳᡵᡤᡝᠨ ᠰᡠᠯᠠᠮᠪᡠᠰᡥᡡᠨ ᠴᠣᠣᡥᠠ

(military) The military arm of the People's Republic of China.


chokehold

chokeholds (plural)
choke hold (alternative)
choke-hold (alternative)

/ˈt͡ʃəʊkˌhəʊld/

/ˈt͡ʃəʊkˌhəʊld/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-chokehold.wav

He put his opponent in a chokehold.

(martial arts, wrestling) A grappling hold around the neck that cuts off the flow of air to the brain.


section automatic weapon

en-noun

section automatic weapon (plural section automatic weapons)

squad automatic weapon
squad automatic weapon

personal machine gun
personal machine gun

(weaponry) squad automatic weapon, a class of light machine gun; a machine gun issued to a section of troops, being heavier than the standard assault rifle and personal machine guns issued per trooper.


squad automatic weapon

squad automatic weapon (plural squad automatic weapons)

(military, weaponry) A kind of light machine gun; a machine gun issued to a squad of troops, being heavier than the standard assault rifles, personal machine guns, machine carbines, battle rifles issued per trooper.


one-two punch

(boxing) A combination of two punches, one from each hand, thrown in rapid succession.


corbeil

From French corbeil, from Latin corbicula, from corbis (“a basket”). Doublet of corbicula.

(military) A basket filled with earth and set up as a protection from the fire of the enemy.


cruiserweight

(boxing, British, obsolete) light heavyweight

(boxing) A boxer weighing less than 200lb; heavier than a light heavyweight and lighter than a heavyweight.

(wrestling) A wrestler weighing less than 210lb; heavier than a light heavyweight and lighter than a heavyweight.


antiterror

(law enforcement, military) Opposing or preventing terrorism.


WEP

(military) Initialism of war emergency power.


obturator

From Latin obtūrō (“to stop, block up”).

(firearms) Any device for preventing the escape of gas through the breech mechanism of a breech-loading gun; a gas check.


epeeist

(fencing) Somebody who fences with an epee.


little brown fucking machine

little brown fucking machine (plural little brown fucking machines)

little brown fucking machines (plural)
LBFM (alternative initialism)

Mack soon learned that this new bit of colonialist lingo stood for "Little Brown Fucking Machine." It was more convenient to abbreviate […]

And we still have soldiers who call us "a little brown fucking machine fueled by rice.

1996, Mary John Mananzan, J Shannon Clarkson, Letty Russell, Women Resisting Violence: Spirituality for Life:

What about that little brown fucking machine? She's got a nice body, a nice attitude; she takes care of herself. I figured you'd like her.

A Little Brown Fucking Machine is not unsexed by prostituting, she is "just doing what comes naturally."

1999, Kamala Kempadoo, Sun, Sex, and Gold:

After Wes forced the split between Jeri and Captain America, he started dating her and dangling a possible dalliance with the Little Brown Fucking Machine […]

LBFM is Navy speak for Little Brown Fucking Machine. They are the bar girls sailors meet in all the ports in the Orient. The term is generic for bar girls […]

(US, navy, vulgar, slang, derogatory, ethnic slur) A Southeast Asian woman regarded as a sex object.


machine-gunner

(military) Someone who uses a machine gun.


canteen cup

My tin canteen cup was too hot to touch. I held it in gloved hands, blowing steam from the coffee and watching the sun rise over the fields beyond the fence.

2005, Nathaniel Fick, One Bullet Away, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, page 343:

(military, camping) A metal cup which can be nested on the top or under a canteen.


ABSD

(military, dated) Initialism of advanced base sectional dock.


AFDB

(US, military, dated) Initialism of auxiliary floating drydock barge.


antirocket

Some 200 were killed instantly, shocking Hamas and indeed all of Gaza, especially because Israel’s antirocket attacks in previous years had been more measured.

2009 January 19, Ethan Bronner, “Parsing Gains of Gaza War”, in New York Times:

(military) Designed to prevent, or counterattack against, rocket fire

antyrakietowy

designed to prevent, or counterattack against, rocket fire


snarge

Arriving mostly in sealed plastic bags, these included birds’ feet, whole feathers or tiny bits of down, and pulverized bird guts, known as snarge.

2009 January 25, Matthew L. Wald, “Identifying the Bird After a Strike, When Not Much Bird Is Left”, in New York Times:

Snarge can be a wad of a Canada goose lodged inside an airplane engine. Or it can be a broken and burned gull feather littered along the runway. Snarge can even be as small as a rusty-red smear on the nose of an airliner. But no matter what form it takes, every bit of snarge is different — and all snarge is important.

2022 April 14, Jason Bittel, “‘Snarge’ Happens, and Studying It Makes Your Flight Safer”, in New York Times, archived from the original on 2022-04-14:

(military, aviation, slang) The remains of a bird after it has collided with an airplane (in a bird strike), especially a turbine engine.


hot extraction

(slang, military) The extraction of military forces by longer-range vehicles (helicopter, boat, armoured personnel carrier) whilst under fire from enemy forces.


step out

en-verb

step out (third-person singular simple present steps out, present participle stepping out, simple past and past participle stepped out)

steps out (present singular third-person)
stepping out (participle present)
stepped out (participle past)
stepped out (past)

[…] they had marched past Poincaré at Peterhof, the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich stepping it out on the right flank with his perfect martial bearing and an air of desperate bravery about him, saluting and giving this honored guest eyes right.

1989, H[arry] T[aylor], transl. Willetts, August 1914, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, translation of original by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, →ISBN, page 225:

(military) To increase the length, but not the rapidity, of the step.


footsweep

(martial arts) Alternative spelling of foot sweep


foot sweep

(martial arts) Any of several moves used to trip an opponent by forcefully moving one's legs horizontally at the feet or ankles of one's opponent.


Four 109s were spotted and attacked. After a dogfight, all four had been shot down. Three crashed on the same field.

1998, Middle Tennessee WWII Fighter Pilots Association, Missions Remembered: Recollections of the World War II Air War, page 68:

(dated, informal, military, World War II) The German Messerschmitt 109 fighter aircraft.


galloper

(military) A carriage on which very small guns were formerly mounted, the gun resting on the shafts, without a limber.


battlewagon

battlewagons (plural)
battle wagon (alternative)
battlewaggon (alternative)
battle waggon (alternative)

A four-wheeled battlewagon recovered from an Early Dynastic IIIA tomb in Kish has axles 90 cm long

2006, Nic Fields with Brian Delf, Bronze Age War Chariots, page 11:

“Individuals or groups of people who have trucks mounted with antiaircraft guns, known as ‘technicals,’ should bring those battlewagons to Mogadishu’s old port,” he said.

2007 January 2, Jeffrey Gettleman, “After 15 Years, Someone’s in Charge in Somalia, if Barely”, in New York Times:

(military) A heavily-armed combat vehicle.

It made no difference that the battlewagon had been commissioned in 1921 and the DE in 1944, or that the battleship's skipper was a regular captain

2000, Edward P. Stafford, Little Ship, Big War: The Saga of DE343, page 281:

A heavily-armed combat vehicle.
A battleship.


break ranks

break ranks (third-person singular simple present breaks ranks, present participle breaking ranks, simple past broke ranks, past participle broken ranks)

breaks ranks (present singular third-person)
breaking ranks (participle present)
broke ranks (past)
broken ranks (participle past)
break rank (alternative)

Coordinate term: keep rank

(military) To march or charge out of the designated order in a military unit.