/ brɪˈgeɪd; NAmE / noun
1.
a large group of soldiers that forms a unit of an army
2.
[ usually sing. ] (often disapproving ) used, always with a word or phrase in front of it, to describe a group of people who share the same opinions or are similar in some other way :
the anti-smoking brigade
—see also fire brigade
•
IDIOMS
see heavy adjective
••
WORD ORIGIN
mid 17th cent.: from French , from Italian brigata company, from brigare contend, from briga strife.