n.
- A subdivision of a company of troops consisting of two or more squads or sections and usually commanded by a lieutenant.
- A group of people working, traveling, or assembled together: a platoon of firefighters; buses carrying platoons of tourists.
- Sports. A group of players within a team, especially a football team, that is trained and sent into or withdrawn from play as a unit: the defensive platoon.
v. Sports, -tooned, -toon·ing, -toons. v.tr.
To play (a player) in alternation with another player in the same position: platooned the two catchers.
v.intr.
- To use alternate players at the same position.
- To take turns playing a position with another player.
[French peloton, from Old French, diminutive of pelote, ball. See pellet.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
