Search the Dictionary

; a number; a multitude. That which should accompany old age --As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends --I must not look to have. Shak.

Any troupial.

A soldier in a body of cavalry; a cavalryman; also, the horse of a cavalryman.

The American scaup duck. [Local, U. S.]

Same as Troupial.

By troops; in crowds. [Obs.] So, troopmeal, Troy pursued a while, laying on with swords and darts. Chapman.

A vessel built or fitted for the conveyance of troops; a transport. [Eng.]

One of a class of marauders or bandits that formerly infested the border country between England and Scotland; -- so called in allusion to the mossy or boggy character of much of the border country.

An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action.

ith a hard experience written in his wrinkles. Hawthorne. Advanced guard, a detachment of troops which precedes the march of the main body.

f steam is too high, or the water in the boiler too low. -- Alarm post, a place to which troops are to repair in case of an alarm.

line; also, the line of adjustment; esp., an imaginary line to regulate the formation of troops or of a squadron.

rated with walls and fixtures made from amber. The amber was removed by occupying German troops during the Second World War and has, as of 1997, never been recovered. The room is being recreated from old photographs by Russian artisans. PJC

A place in which troops lie hid, to attack an enemy unexpectedly. [R.] Dryden.

A disposition or arrangement of troops for attacking an enemy unexpectedly from a concealed station. Hence: Unseen peril; a device to entrap; a snare. Heaven, whose high walls fear no assault or siege Or ambush from the deep. Milton.

events of one's life; previous principles, conduct, course, history. J. H. Newman. If the troops . . . prove worthy of their antecedents, the victory is surely ours. Gen. G. McClellan.

int d'appui. Etym: [F., a point of support.] (Mil.) (a) A given point or body, upon which troops are formed, or by which are marched in line or column. (b) An advantageous defensive support, as a castle, morass, wood, declivity, etc.

ptitude to burn. He seems to have had a peculiar aptitude for the management of irregular troops. Macaulay.

o dispose (persons, or parts) in the manner intended, or best suited for the purpose; as, troops arranged for battle. So [they] came to the market place, and there he arranged his men in the streets. Berners. [They] were beginning to arrange their hampers. Boswell. A mechanism previously arranged. Paley.…

To place or dispose in order, as troops for battle; to marshal. By torch and trumpet fast arrayed, Each horseman drew his battle blade. Campbell. These doubts will be arrayed before their minds. Farrar.