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combat mission

combat mission

12 5.3
A military action with fighting to capture or defend a place
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒmbæt ˈmɪʃən/
translation icon : misión de combate
  • For almost eight years, the Army was flying combat missions, providing logistics, conducting training, and advising ARVN units before the Corps arrived.
  • participate in combat missions

So I didn't have any live combat missions from my time in the SASI.

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Examples

  • George McGovern flew dozens of combat missions over Europe in World War II.

    Blog text (10)
  • While it is now legally possible for the Bundeswehr to participate in combat missions, it can do so only in a multilateral context and with the approval of the German Bundestag.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The combat mission ended a year ago, but soldiers are still dying.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Some of these heroes may even sacrifice their lives to save fellow soldiers, or to allow a combat mission to continue.

    Academic text (1998)
  • I flew 49 combat missions in Vietnam.

  • Mr. O'Reilly had never been on a combat mission with troops before his embeds in Afghanistan.

    Blog text (34)
  • Many may be attempting to catch up to the United States, whose Air Force now extensively uses drone aircraft for both reconnaissance and combat missions.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Faced with austere and often dangerous conditions, military social workers perform the balancing act of trying to meet the needs of their military member clients while continuing to meet the greater needs of the combat mission they are assigned to support.

    Academic text (2010)
  • George Stanley McGovern was a bomber pilot who flew 35 combat missions in World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross.

    Blog text (14)
  • The military conducted a series of combat missions to secure the area from enemy forces.

Synonyms

operation
vscombat mission
811 3.2

A planned action by a group to achieve a goal

is limited to cases that involve active fighting and armed engagement
military action
vscombat mission
105 3.7

An action by soldiers that involves fighting

focuses more on fighting intended to capture or defend a specific target
military operation
vscombat mission
56 3.7

A planned action by armed forces to achieve a goal

involves actual fighting as the main means to reach a stated objective
military mission
vscombat mission
9 4.0

A task given to a group of soldiers to reach a clear goal

specifically involves active fighting rather than only being an assigned task
search and destroy mission
vscombat mission
  • Archaic
2 8.9

A military operation where soldiers move through an area to find and attack enemy fighters

is broader and covers many fighting types, not only searching to eliminate enemies
hostile expedition
vscombat mission
  • Specialized
8.4

A military force that goes into another country to attack and take control

can happen at home or abroad and is not limited to foreign deployments

Antonyms

A military operation where soldiers go to keep peace between fighting groups or countries under United Nations order

1 4.4

Work that does not involve fighting, like delivering supplies

How Dangerous

offensive
159 7.4
assault
  • Specialized
423 6.9
combat mission
12 5.3
reconnaissance mission
  • Specialized
5 6.8
patrol
253 3.2

Surface Forms

Morphology

combat + mission

The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'combat' (armed engagement) with 'mission' (an assigned operation); there is no idiomatic shift or metaphorical extension. This straightforward noun–noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Combat mission joins combat, meaning 'fighting', and mission, meaning a 'task' given to soldiers. It creates a clear image of a specific job where soldiers must fight to take or hold a place, so the phrase means 'a military operation involving active fighting'.