fifth column
- those people in Madrid who aided the forces of Francisco Franco in his uprising against the Spanish republic (1936-39)
- any group of people who aid the enemy from within their own country
See fifth column in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun A clandestine subversive organization working within a country to further an invading enemy's military and political aims.
Related Forms:
- fifth colˈum·nism (kŏlˈəm-nĭzˌəm) noun
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