hit squad

American  

noun

Slang.

1. a team of hit men, as one organized for the purpose of assassinating a political figure.

2. a group of political terrorists.

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Etymology

Origin of hit squad

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

The 15-strong hit squad was travelling on diplomatic passports and included several of MBS’s own bodyguards.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2024

Olszewski testified Tuesday that she secretly recorded a phone call in June she initiated with Braddock in which he claimed the purported Russian-Ukrainian hit squad would respond quickly if he made a single phone call.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2021

“I don’t like the concept of stopping an investment of $110 billion into the United States,” Mr. Trump said just two weeks after Mr. Khashoggi, a Virginia resident, was killed by a Saudi hit squad.

From New York Times • Sep. 9, 2020

Swinton is in lawyerly mode in this sturdy but old-fashioned drama: she is hunting down Nazi-collaborator-in-hiding Michael Caine, apparently the target of a Jewish hit squad.

From The Guardian • Jan. 16, 2020

The Turkish government had photographs of a 15-man hit squad arriving from Saudi Arabia and entering the consulate shortly before Khashoggi.

From Washington Post • Nov. 18, 2018