squad

squad

English

Etymology 1

From French escouade, from Italian squadra (“square”) (whence also French escadre).

Alternative forms

• escouade (archaic)

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈskwɒd/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈskwɑd/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒd

Noun

squad (plural squads)

1. A group of people organized for some common purpose, usually of about ten members.
   1. A unit of tactical military personnel, or of police officers, usually of about ten members.
      • 1912, in The New England magazine, volume 47:

        A squad of soldiers ordered them to disperse but instead of doing so they commenced throwing ice and rocks.

   2. (cricket, soccer, rugby) A group of potential players from whom a starting team and substitutes are chosen.
   3. (informal) A collective noun for a group of squid.
      • 1970, TV Guide:

        At one point, the 400-ton Calypso was brought to a standstill by a squad of squid which clogged the engines and caused a power failure. Other, highlights included an attack by predatory blue sharks, […]

      • 2002, Let's Go Inc., Let's Go 2003: Britain & Ireland, Let's Go Publications:

        The Sea Life Centre retains a squad of squid and such.

      • 2012, S. Louis King, Gnome Home Papers, AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 546:

        There's several new symbols next to the doorway symbol. Beso pushed all six of them without waiting to see what they brought; like a herd of charging rhinos or rampaging squad of squid. Next best thing though.

      • 2017, Kristen Joy Wilks, Athens Ambuscade, Pelican Ventures Book Group, →ISBN:

        I pulled in as deep a breath as my gag allowed and began relaxing my body. I used a little trick I'd learned in college. I imagined that a friendly squad of squid were massaging every muscle on the bottoms of my feet; the tension began to drain.

2. (slang) One's friend group, taken collectively; one's peeps.
   • 2019, Bernardine Evaristo, Girl, Woman, Other, Penguin Books (2020), page 52:

     anyway, sheʼs resigned herself to hanging out with the squad at uni rather than going manhunting

Derived terms

• bomb squad
• firing squad
• flying squad
• God squad
• squad car
• squaddie
• vice squad

Related terms

• squadron

Translations

small group of people organized for a purpose

Armenian: ջոկատ (hy) (ǰokat) Belarusian: гру́па f (hrúpa), кама́нда (kamánda), брыга́да f (bryháda) Bulgarian: брига́да (bg) f (brigáda), кома́нда (bg) f (kománda) French: escouade (fr) f German: Gruppe (de) f Greek: διμοιρία (el) f (dimoiría) Hungarian: csapat (hu), brigád (hu) Ido: esquado (io) Norwegian: Bokmål: lag (no) n, tropp m Romanian: ceată (ro) f, echipă (ro) f Russian: гру́ппа (ru) f (grúppa), кома́нда (ru) f (kománda), брига́да (ru) f (brigáda) Spanish: escuadra (es) f, cuadrilla (es) f, escuadrón (es) m Swedish: trupp (sv) c Ukrainian: гру́па (uk) f (hrúpa), кома́нда f (kománda), брига́да (uk) f (bryháda)

unit of tactical military personnel or police officers

Arabic: فِرْقَة‎ f (firqa), جَمَاعَة‎ (ar) f (jamāʿa) Armenian: ջոկատ (hy) (ǰokat), ջոկ (hy) (ǰok) Belarusian: атра́д m (atrád), кама́нда f (kamánda), аддзяле́нне n (addzjaljénnje) Bulgarian: отря́д (bg) m (otrjád), отделе́ние (bg) n (otdelénie) Chinese: Mandarin: 戰隊／战队 (zhànduì), 班 (zh) (bān) Esperanto: eskadrono Estonian: jagu Finnish: ryhmä (fi) French: escadron (fr) m German: Gruppe (de) f Greek: ομάδα (el) (omáda), ενωμοτία (el) f (enomotía), ουλαμός (el) m (oulamós) Hungarian: osztag (hu), egység (hu), csapat (hu), különítmény (hu), szakasz (hu), csoport (hu), raj (hu) Ido: esquado (io) Japanese: 戦隊 (ja) (せ​んたい, sentai), 分隊 (ja) (ぶんたい, buntai) Khmer: ក្រុម (km) (krom) Korean: 전대(戰隊) (ko) (jeondae), 분대(分隊) (ko) (bundae) Norwegian: Bokmål: lag (no) n, tropp m Nynorsk: lag n Persian: جوخه‎ (fa) (juxe) Polish: szwadron (pl) m, oddział (pl) m Portuguese: esquadrão (pt) m Russian: отря́д (ru) m (otrjád), кома́нда (ru) f (kománda), отделе́ние (ru) n (otdelénije) Spanish: escuadrón (es) m Swedish: trupp (sv) c Ukrainian: загі́н m (zahín), кома́нда f (kománda), відді́лення n (viddílennja)

sports team

Belarusian: кама́нда f (kamánda) Bulgarian: отбо́р (bg) m (otbór) German: Kader (de) m Greek: ομάδα (el) f (omáda) Hungarian: keret (hu), csapat (hu) Indonesian: skuat (id) Italian: squadra (it) f Norwegian: Bokmål: please add this translation if you can Polish: drużyna (pl) f, ekipa (pl) f Russian: кома́нда (ru) f (kománda) Spanish: plantilla (es) f, escuadra (es) f, conjunto (es) m, cuadro (es) m Swedish: lag (sv) n, trupp (sv) c Ukrainian: кома́нда f (kománda)

See also

• Appendix:English collective nouns

Verb

squad (third-person singular simple present squads, present participle squadding, simple past and past participle squadded)

1. (intransitive) To act as part of, or on behalf of, a squad.

   We squad on the fifth of the month.

Etymology 2

Uncertain. Compare squick (“disgust”), squalid (“dirty”) with similar initial sounds.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskwæd/

Noun

squad

1. (UK, dialect) Sloppy mud. [from mid-17th c.]
   • 1875 March 13, Leicester Chronicle, quoted in the EDD:

     The lass ran all among the muck and squad.

   • 1895, Alfred Tennyson, The Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson: Poet-laureate, page 791:

     An' she did n't not solidly mean I wur / gawin' that waäy to the bad,

     Fur the gell was as howry a trollope as / iver traäpes'd i' the squad.

Further reading

• Robert Eden George Cole, A Glossary of Words Used in South-west Lincolnshire (1886), page 140

Anagrams

• quads

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esˈkwad/ [esˈkwað̞]
• Rhymes: -ad

Noun

squad m (plural squads or squad)

1. squad