sortie
SOR-tee
/ˈsɔːrti/
An attack made by troops coming out from a besieged position; also, a single mission by a military aircraft.
Implies a sudden, brief outward thrust from a defensive or enclosed position, followed by a quick return.
The story behind the word. Sortie is a direct loanword from French, where it is the feminine past participle of 'sortir', meaning 'to go out'. In military history, it described the dramatic moment when besieged soldiers would suddenly open the castle gates and charge out to catch the besiegers off guard.
Word relationships
- sally: Sally is an older, more literary synonym for a sortie from a fort, whereas sortie is the standard modern term, especially in aviation.
- raid: A raid is a sudden attack on an enemy, but it does not necessarily originate from a besieged or defensive position.
- retreat: A retreat is moving backward away from the enemy, while a sortie is a sudden outward attack toward them.
- withdrawal: A withdrawal is a planned movement away from combat, the opposite of a sortie's offensive thrust.
Commonly confused with
- flight: A flight is any journey through the air, while a military sortie is a specific combat mission flown by an aircraft.
Word family
- sorties (noun): Plural form of sortie.
Collocations
- fly a sortie
- daring sortie
- midnight sortie
Example sentences
- "The garrison made a sudden sortie at midnight to spike the enemy's siege guns and destroy their supply tents." A description of siege warfare.
Memory hook
Think of 'sortie' as a quick 'sort-of' exit—you run out to attack, but you run right back in. A sortie is a quick run out to fight.
When not to use
Do not use for a prolonged invasion or a standard march; a sortie is always a quick 'out-and-back' mission.
Fun facts
- In modern military aviation, a single aircraft flying one combat mission from takeoff to landing is counted as one 'sortie'.
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.