friendly fire

noun

: the firing of weapons from one's own forces or those of an ally especially when resulting in the accidental death or injury of one's own personnel
Near the river bordering our camp I find the tents of the four soldiers who were supposedly hit by friendly fire.Janine Di Giovanni
After all, accidental attacks, though tragic, are common in war. In 1967 alone, "friendly fire" killed 5,373 Americans fighting in Vietnam.Michael Oren

Examples of friendly fire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Other factors included electronic warfare, both from Russian and from Ukrainian forces, and co-ordination with air defence so their drones were not brought down by friendly fire. David Hambling, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025 Kirkpatrick could not answer whether the officers may have been struck by friendly fire, saying that was something the FBI will investigate. Daniella Silva, NBC News, 10 Jan. 2025 Officials declined to comment on whether any injuries to officers or bystanders resulted from friendly fire. Matthew Impelli, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025 Kirkpatrick declined to comment on whether officers or bystanders were hit by friendly fire. Jack Brook, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for friendly fire

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of friendly fire was in 1918

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Cite this Entry

“Friendly fire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/friendly%20fire. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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