A troop is a group of soldiers, scouts or even monkeys. In the plural, troops means soldiers or an army. It isn't the word for a group of actors: a theatre's actors are a theatre company, and a group of touring performers, such as dancers or circus artists, is a troupe. Troop and troupe sound the same, so they're easy to confuse in writing.
troop: will you get the meaning right?
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troops (= soldiers); send/withdraw + troops; a troop of + monkeys/scouts; troop + into/out of + a place; a theatre company / troupe (not troop)
- The government sent troops to help rescue people after the floods.
- A troop of monkeys stole our sandwiches while we were taking photos of the temple.
- When the fire alarm went off, the whole office trooped out into the car park.
What changed
First versionAfter drama school, she joined a theatre troop in Saint Petersburg.
RevisionAfter drama school, she joined a theatre company in Saint Petersburg.
Troop sounds exactly like troupe, but a troop is a unit of soldiers or scouts, so a theatre troop sounds like a military unit attached to a theatre. A theatre's permanent group of actors is a company. Troupe, with -pe at the end, would also work here.
Troop can also be a verb, used when a group of people walk somewhere together, often tiredly or unwillingly: After the meeting, we all trooped back to our desks. One more detail: 500 troops means 500 soldiers, but one person is a soldier, not a troop.
Your turn
Before she became famous in films, she spent ten years acting with a small theatre ___.
Show the answer
company — She acted in a theatre, so this is about a group of actors: company. A troop is a unit of soldiers or scouts, and the word has nothing to do with actors, even though it sounds exactly like troupe.
Think of a time when a group of people set off somewhere together: from work, from a class or on a trip. Using the verb troop, write where everyone went and why.
When the power went off in the office, we all trooped down to the café across the street to keep working on our laptops.
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