fifth column

3 definitions found

fifth column - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  fifth column \fifth` col"umn\, n. [from a statement during the
     Spanish Civil War (1936) that the Falange had four columns of
     soldiers marching on the city, and a fifth column "already
     there" (i.e. sympathizers inside the Republican lines).]
     1. a group of persons inside the battle lines of a territory
        engaged in a conflict, who secretly sympathize with the
        enemy, and who engage in espionage or sabotage; --
        sometimes also referred to as a trojan horse.
        [RP]
  
     2. Hence, any faction of persons within a group who secretly
        sympathize with an enemy, especially those who engage in
        activities harmful to the group; an enemy in one's midst;
        a group of traitors.
        [RP]

fifth column - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  fifth column
      n 1: a subversive group that supports the enemy and engages in
           espionage or sabotage; an enemy in your midst [syn: fifth column
           , Trojan horse]

fifth column - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  22 Moby Thesaurus words for "fifth column":
     Judas-like, Trojan horse, Trojan-horse, betraying,
     collaborationist, collaborator, crypto, double-crossing,
     fellow traveler, fifth columnist, fraternizer, quisling,
     quislingistic, saboteur, security risk, subversive, traitorous,
     treasonable, treasonous, turncoat, two-timing, underground