sortie

/ˈsɔrti/

Other forms: sorties

When a group of soldiers is sent on a specific mission, it's called a sortie. A fighter pilot's sortie might involve a mission to drop a bomb on a target and return to base.

When a fighting unit is deployed, heading out on a military mission, you can describe it as a sortie. A sortie might involve troops moving across a field toward their enemy, or a tank advancing on a city held by rebels. Sometimes a sortie involves a sudden surge or attack. In French, the word sortie literally means "a going out," from a Latin root, surgere, or "rise up."

Definitions of sortie

1. noun

   a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position
   synonyms: sally

   type of:

   action, military action

   a military engagement
2. noun

   (military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation)
   type of:

   flight, flying

   an instance of traveling by air