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Glite Dictionary
distributed fire

distributed fire

8.2
Shots from many guns spread over an area to hit targets
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : fuego distribuido
  • The platoon used distributed fire to cover the entire advancing enemy line.

Examples

  • Modern artillery units often employ distributed fire in their operations.

  • Instructors emphasized the effectiveness of distributed fire against wide area targets.

  • The troops used distributed fire to cover the enemy's retreat.

  • Effective distributed fire can change the outcome of a battle.

  • Instructors emphasized the effectiveness of distributed fire against wide area targets.

  • Modern artillery units often employ distributed fire in their operations.

  • The platoon used distributed fire to cover the entire advancing enemy line.

Synonyms

searching fire
vsdistributed fire
  • Specialized
9.9

Shots from guns aimed at different heights to hit targets at various distances

spreads gunfire across the whole area rather than focusing on depth coverage
zone fire
vsdistributed fire
  • Jargon
9.5

Artillery or mortar guns fire in one direction with changing elevation to hit different distances across a target area

spreads artillery across the whole area instead of sustained single-direction action

Surface Forms

distributed fire singular
distributed fires plural

Morphology

distributed + fire

The phrase 'distributed fire' is directly compositional: 'distributed' (spread/divided) applied to 'fire' (the shooting of weapons) yields the meaning of firing spread over an area. Although it is a technical military term, the meaning follows ordinary word-combination logic and would be inferable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The term distributed fire comes from a simple image: many soldiers or guns are placed apart so the fire is distributed across the area. This spreads shots to cover a wide target, so it means 'a way of shooting that spreads fire over an area'.