friendly fire

noun

: the firing of weapons from one's own forces or those of an ally especially when resulting in the accidental death or injury of one's own personnel
Near the river bordering our camp I find the tents of the four soldiers who were supposedly hit by friendly fire.—Janine Di Giovanni
After all, accidental attacks, though tragic, are common in war. In 1967 alone, "friendly fire" killed 5,373 Americans fighting in Vietnam.—Michael Oren

Examples of friendly fire in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Harbaugh lit one more friendly fire under his team at the end of Thursday’s jog-through practice. — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2026 Since then, the Palestinian death toll has risen to 73,000, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, while five Israeli soldiers have been killed, including one in friendly fire, since the cease-fire, according to Israeli officials. — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 4 Aug. 2026 This friendly fire incident, not the first, occurred as the Ka-52, equipped with anti-drone airburst ammunition, was targeting slow-moving Ukrainian drones. — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026 Over a dozen men were killed and many more injured in the friendly fire incident. — Salena Zito, Washington Post, 1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for friendly fire

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of friendly fire was in 1918

Rhymes for friendly fire

See All Rhymes for friendly fire

Browse Nearby Words

friendly crab
friendly fire
friendly society
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Friendly fire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/friendly%20fire. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

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