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A troop of cavalry; -- so called from its being accompanied by a cornet player. [Obs.] "A body of five cornets of horse." Clarendon.

An evolution by which a body of troops change front or reverse the direction of march while retaining the same men in the front rank; also, a movement by which the rear rank becomes the front one, either with or without changing the right to the left.

at a glance the weakness or strength of a military position, of a certain arrangement of troops, the most advantageous position for a battlefield, etc.

Any position giving the enemy such advantage that the troops occupying it must either surrender or be cut to pieces. Farrow.

s sold short does in order to protect himself. -- Covering party (Mil.), a detachment of troops sent for the protection of another detachment, as of men working in the trenches. -- To cover into, to transfer to; as, to cover into the treasury.

The arrangement of a body of troops, either forward or rearward, so as to form a line nearly perpendicular to the general line of battle.

n of damsels she was gone, In shady walks the scorching heat to shum. Dryden. Sometimes a troop of damsels glad, . . . Goes by to towered Cameleot. Tennyson.

Attended or beset with danger; full of risk; perilous; hazardous; unsafe. Our troops set forth to-morrow; stay with us; The ways are dangerous. Shak. It is dangerous to assert a negative. Macaulay.

e; to lure into a net or snare; to entrap; to insnare; to allure; to entice; as, to decoy troops into an ambush; to decoy ducks into a net. Did to a lonely cot his steps decoy. Thomson. E'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart, distrusting, asks if this be joy. Goldsmith.

or dress. Pope. Two and a half per cent should be deducted out of the pay of the foreign troops. Bp. Burnet. We deduct from the computation of our years that part of our time which is spent in . . . infancy. Norris.

Any narrow passage or gorge in which troops can march only in a file, or with a narrow front; a long, narrow pass between hills, rocks, etc.

To deprive of a garrison, or of troops necessary for defense; as, to degarnish a city or fort. [R.] Washington.

The disorganization or disarming of troops which have previously been mobilized or called into active service; the change from a war footing to a peace footing.

To disorganize, or disband and send home, as troops which have been mobilized.

delay in acting or deciding. The same causes of demurral existed which prevented British troops from assisting in the expulsion of the French from Rome. Southey.

To open out; to unfold; to spread out (a body of troops) in such a way that they shall display a wider front and less depth; -- the reverse of ploy; as, to deploy a column of troops into line of battle.

To take plunder or prey; to commit waste; as, the troops depredated on the country.

tal measurement backward from the front; as, the depth of a river; the depth of a body of troops.

Filled with desire; eager. [R.] The desireful troops. Godfrey (1594).

In a desperate manner; without regard to danger or safety; recklessly; extremely; as, the troops fought desperately. She fell desperately in love with him. Addison.