phalanx

How to use phalanx in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for phalanx.

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Editorial note

They showed up with "a phalanx of officers from the FBI, ATF and Boston".

Examples6

Definitions3

Parts of speech1

Quick take

any of the bones of the fingers or toes

Meaning at a glance

The clearest senses and uses of phalanx gathered in one view.

noun

any of the bones of the fingers or toes

noun

any closely ranked crowd of people

noun

a body of troops in close array

Definitions

Core meanings and parts of speech for phalanx.

noun

any of the bones of the fingers or toes

noun

any closely ranked crowd of people

noun

a body of troops in close array

Example sentences

They showed up with "a phalanx of officers from the FBI, ATF and Boston".

And the phalanx was a crucial part of Philip II and Alexander's combined arms system and their maneuver warfare.

A Spartan boys life was devoted almost entirely to his school, and that school had but one purpose: to produce an almost indestructible Spartan phalanx.

In my admittedly ignorant opinion, he uses the terms "maneuver warfare" and "phalanx warfare" so broadly as to make them almost meaningless.

" It is only in hindsight and perhaps anachronistically that one classifies battleships as the phalanx rather than the mongol horde - or perhaps more appropriately Viking Longship.

[edit] All this to point out, that the distinction between maneuver and phalanx isn't always obvious and neither is the choice as a matter of tactics - when the enemy masses on your front, digging in and calling for aircover is may be the preferred alternative - even for highly mobile force.