pincer movement
noun
1
: a military attack by two coordinated forces that close in on an enemy position from different directions
2
: a combination of two forces acting against an opposing force
Examples of pincer movement in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Multiple columns of smoke can be seen rising into the sky as Russian troops subject the town to a pincer movement.
—
Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Feb. 2025
In the spring of 1862, Ulysses Grant’s army advanced from the north while David Farragut’s amphibious operation came up from the south in a pincer movement around Vicksburg.
—Scott Spillman, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025
The main effort of Russia’s ground campaign would be to create a pincer movement from the north that encircled Kyiv and enveloped the bulk of Ukraine’s ground forces in the eastern part of the country.
—Michael Kofman, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
In 1846, two separate U.S. contingents executed a pincer movement, by sea and by land, to capture the ports of Alta California and the territory of Nuevo México.
—Enrique Krauze, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
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Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Feb. 2025
In the spring of 1862, Ulysses Grant’s army advanced from the north while David Farragut’s amphibious operation came up from the south in a pincer movement around Vicksburg.
—Scott Spillman, The New Yorker, 29 Jan. 2025
The main effort of Russia’s ground campaign would be to create a pincer movement from the north that encircled Kyiv and enveloped the bulk of Ukraine’s ground forces in the eastern part of the country.
—Michael Kofman, Foreign Affairs, 22 Feb. 2022
In 1846, two separate U.S. contingents executed a pincer movement, by sea and by land, to capture the ports of Alta California and the territory of Nuevo México.
—Enrique Krauze, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2013
See all Example Sentences for pincer movement
Dictionary Entries Near pincer movement
Cite this Entry
“Pincer movement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pincer%20movement. Accessed 17 Feb. 2025.
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