Wiktionary:Word of the day/2022/July 10

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sortie n

(military, also attributively and figuratively) An attack made by troops from a besieged position; a sally. (aviation) An operational flight carried out by a single military aircraft. (by extension) An act of venturing out to do a task, etc. (figuratively) An act of trying to enter a new field of activity. (sports) An attacking move. (astronautics) An operational flight carried out by a spacecraft involving a return to Earth. (military) Synonym of sally port (“an entry to or opening into a fortification to enable a sally”) (photography) A series of aerial photographs taken during the flight of an aircraft; (by extension) a photography session. sortie v (intransitive) To carry out a sortie; to sally. The Battle of Britain—the air defence of the United Kingdom against attacks by Nazi Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, during World War II—is officially recognized by the British to have started on this day in 1940.

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