1
: a sudden issuing of troops from a defensive position against the enemy
2
: one mission or attack by a single plane
3
b
: excursion, expedition
diving sorties
sortie
intransitive verb
sortied; sortieing
Synonyms
Examples of sortie in a Sentence
an occasional sortie to the city to rummage through some of its numerous used-book stores
Recent Examples on the Web
During the rip, the National Guard was able to complete 143 Bambi Bucket sorties, which was roughly 95,000 gallons of water, according to an X post by the WV National Guard.
—
USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
Since Pelosi's visit, monthly sorties into the ADIZ have topped 200 four times, including a record 103 military aircraft in one day in September of this year.
—Michael Lee, Fox News, 23 Dec. 2023
This surge in Russian sorties presents Ukrainian air-defenders with more targets.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Sensing an opportunity, the Russian air force is flying more sorties, closer to the front line, lobbing glide-bombs to suppress Ukrainian troops.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Taiwan urges China to stop ‘destructive’ military sorties as tensions mount
Last week, Sri Lanka declared a moratorium on Chinese research vessels entering its waters under what analysts say was intense pressure from India.
—Cate Cadell, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024
However, since its first test flight in April 2021, the helicopter has exceeded all expectations by flying more than 50 different sorties across Mars and surviving long and dark winters.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 8 Aug. 2023
Eleven of the sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
—Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 27 Jan. 2024
The possibility of multiple sample-return sorties isn’t a pipe dream: China is planning one of its own—a mission called Tianwen-3 that is planned to launch in 2028 and would seek to deliver Mars rocks to Earth as early as mid-2031.
—Leonard David, Scientific American, 11 Jan. 2024
USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
Since Pelosi's visit, monthly sorties into the ADIZ have topped 200 four times, including a record 103 military aircraft in one day in September of this year.
—Michael Lee, Fox News, 23 Dec. 2023
This surge in Russian sorties presents Ukrainian air-defenders with more targets.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Sensing an opportunity, the Russian air force is flying more sorties, closer to the front line, lobbing glide-bombs to suppress Ukrainian troops.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Taiwan urges China to stop ‘destructive’ military sorties as tensions mount
Last week, Sri Lanka declared a moratorium on Chinese research vessels entering its waters under what analysts say was intense pressure from India.
—Cate Cadell, Washington Post, 10 Jan. 2024
However, since its first test flight in April 2021, the helicopter has exceeded all expectations by flying more than 50 different sorties across Mars and surviving long and dark winters.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 8 Aug. 2023
Eleven of the sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
—Andrea Vacchiano, Fox News, 27 Jan. 2024
The possibility of multiple sample-return sorties isn’t a pipe dream: China is planning one of its own—a mission called Tianwen-3 that is planned to launch in 2028 and would seek to deliver Mars rocks to Earth as early as mid-2031.
—Leonard David, Scientific American, 11 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sortie.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sortie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sortie. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.
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