shock troops

plural noun

1
: troops especially suited and chosen for offensive work because of their high morale, training, and discipline
2
: a group of people militant in pressing for a cause

Examples of shock troops in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The reason why there were so many casualties despite a small number of battles is because North Korean soldiers were deployed as frontline shock troops in an unfamiliar open field and lack abilities to respond to drones, Lee said. Joohee Cho, ABC News, 18 Dec. 2024 Even the first stage of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine - on the pretext of protecting Russian speakers being maltreated - parallels Hitler’s sending shock troops into Czechoslovakia to purportedly safeguard German speakers along the Czech borderlands. Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024 The relationship went both ways, with Hezbollah fighters serving as shock troops that bolstered Assad’s flagging army — an intervention the group justified as protecting Shiite minorities and shrines in Syria from Islamist and jihadi factions in the opposition. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024 Some of Ukraine’s new units will need six to nine months of additional training and some battlefield experience to prepare to serve as the shock troops and strike force for a 2025 offensive. Alexander Vindman, Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for shock troops 

Word History

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of shock troops was in 1887

Dictionary Entries Near shock troops

Cite this Entry

“Shock troops.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shock%20troops. Accessed 11 Jan. 2025.

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