1. Soldiers armed with carbines, especially cavalry or mounted infantry units in European armies.
Usage: historical; chiefly British and European military contexts; plural form; singular is carabinier
2. Members of the Carabinieri, the Italian national police and paramilitary force.
Usage: proper noun usage; Italian context

Examples

• The carabiniers charged across the field on horseback, their carbines raised.
• During the Napoleonic Wars, French carabiniers were elite mounted units.
• The Italian carabiniers patrol the streets in their distinctive uniforms.
• Eighteenth-century carabiniers combined the mobility of cavalry with the firepower of riflemen.
• The carabiniers arrived at the scene within minutes of the emergency call.