noun
sortie
SAW-tee
noun
1
A single military flight or mission carried out by an aircraft.
"The pilot flew three sorties over the border in one day."
2
A sudden attack launched from a defended position.
"The garrison staged a sortie against the besieging army."
verb
1
To carry out such a mission or attack.
"Fighter jets sortied at dawn to intercept the incoming planes."
How to Use Sortie
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA single military mission out and back, whether by plane or on foot from a besieged fort.
Common pairings
fly a sortie
combat sortie
launch a sortie
Word Forms
sortied past tense, sorties plural, Sorties plural, sorties singular
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Etymology
From French sortie ("act of going out"), from sortir ("to exit"), ultimately from Latin sortiri ("to draw lots").