brigade

1 of 2

noun

bri·​gade bri-ˈgād 

1

a

: a large body of troops

b

: a tactical and administrative unit composed of a headquarters, one or more units of infantry or armor, and supporting units

2

: a group of people organized for special activity

brigade

2 of 2

verb

brigaded; brigading

transitive verb

: to form or unite into a brigade

Synonyms

Noun

• army
• band
• company
• crew
• gang
• outfit
• party
• platoon
• squad
• team

Examples of brigade in a Sentence

Noun

The morality brigade insists that the book be censored.

a clean-up brigade put the parish hall back in good order

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For weeks, wolf advocates from across the country, including a motorcycle brigade from Texas, planned to drive through Daniel to raise awareness and money to reform Wyoming’s wolf laws. —Caitlin Tan, NPR, 1 June 2024

The Ukrainian army has rushed in elite brigades that appear to have stalled the Russian advance in the Kharkiv region for now. —Constant Méheut, New York Times, 23 May 2024

Verb

This is just one of the tactics in brigading, where disinformation agents seek to silence dissenting viewpoints by casting them as the wrong choice. —H. Colleen Sinclair, The Conversation, 7 Dec. 2023

These communities have also been known to brigade other subreddits, meaning members would hop into other subreddits and spam them with falsehoods about the anti-parasite drug Ivermectin or the effectiveness of vaccines. —Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 2 Sep. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, from Italian brigata, from brigare to fight — more at brigand

First Known Use

Noun

1634, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1781, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing brigade

• bucket brigade
• fire brigade

Kids Definition

brigade

noun

bri·​gade

brig-ˈād

1

: a body of soldiers consisting of two or more regiments

2

: a group of people organized for acting together

a fire brigade