firing squad

a military detachment assigned to execute a condemned person by shooting.

a military detachment assigned to fire a salute at the burial of a person being honored.

Origin of firing squad

First recorded in 1900–05

Before going out at dawn to face the firing-squad he was calm.

Now It Can Be Told |Philip Gibbs
As if the men in front of her had been the firing-squad, each look a bullet, she pitched forward.

The Messenger |Elizabeth Robins
You had only to step from the car and leave me to take your place before the firing-squad.

The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Vol. II: In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians |Ambrose Bierce
Better this than the hand-rubbing grunt of the firing-squad returning to barracks after its labors.

Erik Dorn |Ben Hecht

He moved with the dignity of a hero who marches towards a wall to meet the bullets of a firing-squad.

The Money Master, Complete |Gilbert Parker

firing squad

a small military detachment formed to implement a death sentence by shooting