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tactical

UK/ˈtæktɪk(ə)l/US/ˈtæktɪk(ə)l/
adjectiveC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,532 of 15,258leans written

Tactical means planned to gain a particular advantage. A tactical decision, tactical voting, tactical retreat.

It is about the immediate move rather than the long aim, which is the whole difference from strategic: strategy decides the war and tactics decide the battle. Tactical voting means voting for the candidate most likely to beat the one you dislike, which is a feature of British elections. A tactical retreat is a withdrawal chosen rather than forced. Note tactics, tactically; and tactical nuclear weapons, which are battlefield-scale.

Definitions of tactical

  1. 1adjectivetacticalPlanned to gain a particular advantage.C1

    “The manager made a tactical change, bringing on a defender to protect the lead.”

tactical is a quality of short-term planning.

Where it comes from

  1. Ancient Greek

    τακτικός

  2. New Latin

    tactica

  3. English

    tactic

  4. English, today

    tactical

Built from

  • τάσσω · Ancient Greek — to order, to arrange

From tactic + -al. tactic Borrowed from New Latin tactica, from Ancient Greek τακτικός. Borrowed from New Latin tactica, from Ancient Greek τακτικός (“fit for ordering”), from τάσσω (“to order, to arrange”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Word Building

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tactical in the wild

  • Intelligence activities are conducted at all levels, from tactical to strategic, in peacetime, the period of transition to war, and during a war itself.

    Military intelligence

  • In 1948, the Continental Air Command assumed control over air defense, tactical air, and air reserve forces.

    Tactical Air Command

  • A tactical withdrawal or retreating defensive action is a type of military operation, generally meaning that retreating forces draw back while maintaining contact with the enemy.

    Withdrawal (military)

  • A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations.

    Tactical nuclear weapon

  • Though hundreds of types of tactical nuclear weapons have been developed and deployed since the 1950s, none have ever been used in combat.

    Tactical nuclear weapon

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the tactica family

tacticaltactic

tactical — used about once every 607 pages · #3,532 · point at the bar for the others

  • tactician