squad W3 /skwɒd $ skwɑːd/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: French ; Origin: escouade , from escadre , from Italian squadra 'square' , from Vulgar Latin exquadra ; ⇨ ↑ square 2 ]
1 . a group of players from which a team will be chosen for a particular sports event:
the Italian World Cup squad
2 . the police department responsible for dealing with a particular kind of crime
drugs/fraud/vice etc squad
A controlled explosion was carried out by bomb squad officers.
3 . a small group of soldiers working together as a unit:
a drill squad
4 . American English a group of ↑ cheerleader s
⇨ ↑ death squad , ↑ firing squad , ↑ flying squad