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soldier Definition

sol·dier (sōl′jər)

noun

  1. a person serving in an army; member of an army
    1. an enlisted person, as distinguished from one holding a warrant or commission
    2. any low-ranking member of a Mafia family
  3. one who has much military experience or military skill
  4. a person who works zealously for a specified cause
  5. an ant or termite of a caste having an enlarged head and jaws and serving as fighters in defense of the colony

Etymology: ME soldiour < OFr soldier < solde, coin, pay < LL solidus: see solidus

intransitive verb

  1. to serve as a soldier
  2. to proceed stubbornly or doggedly: usually with on
  3. to shirk one's duty, as by making a pretense of working, feigning illness, etc.

soldier Synonyms

soldier

n.

warrior, fighter, fighting man, private, officer, enlisted man, enlisted woman, volunteer, conscript, commando, mercenary, musketeer, cadet, rank and file, ranks, selectee, commissioned officer, noncommissioned officer, warrant officer, recruit, veteran, Green Beret, Tommy (British), warmonger, militant, G.I.*, Joe*, doughfoot*, dogface*, grunt*. *

Types of soldiers include: marine, infantryman, foot soldier, rifleman, sharpshooter, marksman, sniper, guerrilla, scout, skirmisher, sniper-scout, guardsman, artilleryman, gunner, cannoneer, engineer, cavalryman, trooper, knight, dragon, airman, bomber pilot, fighter pilot, torpedo operator, air gunner, radio operator, signalman, paratrooper, commando, air-borne trooper, tanker, Seabee, Green Beret, Special Forces, Ranger, draftee, selectee, ski trooper, antiaircraft gunner, pioneer, machine-gunner, sepoy, Zouave, grenadier.

soldier Usage Examples

Preposition: on

  • horseback: Soldiers on horseback provide mobility and speed to an army commander.
  • battlefield: And as the battle spread, they defeated the Israelites, killing about four thousand soldiers on the battlefield.

Converse of subject

rape: Come to an Amnesty event Act now for Bitondo Nyumba who was beaten and raped by government soldiers from her own country.

Adjective modifier

  • wounded: London was overcrowded with wounded soldiers begging in the streets.
  • British: During both world wars, tons of the black stuff was shipped to British soldiers around the globe.
  • Iraqi: Iraqi soldiers were sent to take the peace campers to Baghdad for evacuation.
  • German: From a German soldier who fought in Russia: " Do you know how we behaved to the civilians?
  • American: Some American soldiers also were seen inside the compound.

Converse of object

kill: The militants killed five UN soldiers in the attack.

Modifies a noun

heavyweapons: When g_heavyweaponrestriction is at 0, for some unfathomable reason this means zero restriction for artillery, and zero allowed soldier heavyweapons.

Preposition: in

trench: Letters could be written in Scots from soldiers in the trenches to loved ones back home.

Preposition: of

legion: A soldier of the Theban Legion martyred near Ventimiglia in Italy.

Preposition: with

bayonet: Just a week before the opening ceremony soldiers with fixed bayonets charged a crowd of over 15,000.

Noun used with modifier

  • infantry: They train as infantry soldiers at weekends and on drill nights.
  • enemy: This will either stun or kill all enemy soldiers.
  • front-line: He also had the revolutionary idea of using front-line soldiers as news sources.
  • foot: The soldiers of the castle would include Archers and foot soldiers as well as the mounted Knights.
  • coalition: The Iraqis destroyed one coalition APC wounding two coalition soldiers.

Browse dictionary entries near soldier

  1. ‹ soldering iron
  2. ‹ solder
  3. ‹ sold-out market
  4. ‹ sold-out
  5. ‹ sold
  6. ‹ solatium
  7. ‹ solate
  8. ‹ solarize
  9. ‹ solarium
  10. ‹ Solaris
  1. soldier of fortune ›
  2. Soldier's Medal ›
  3. soldierly ›
  4. soldiery ›
  5. soldo ›
  6. sole ›
  7. sole proprietorship ›
  8. solecism ›
  9. solely ›
  10. solemn ›