soldier

American  

[sohl-jer] / ˈsoʊl dʒər /

noun

1. a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service.

2. an enlisted person, as distinguished from a commissioned officer.

   the soldiers' mess and the officers' mess.

3. a person of military skill or experience.

   George Washington was a great soldier.

4. a person who contends or serves in any cause.

   a soldier of the Lord.

5. Also called button man.  Slang. a low-ranking member of a crime organization or syndicate.

6. Entomology.

   1. a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped female ants or termites specialized, as with powerful jaws, to defend the colony from invaders.

   2. a similar member of a caste of worker bees, specialized to protect the hive.

7. a brick laid vertically with the narrower long face out.

8. Informal. a person who avoids work or pretends to work; loafer; malingerer.

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verb (used without object)

1. to act or serve as a soldier.

2. Informal. to loaf while pretending to work; malinger.

   He was soldiering on the job.

verb phrase

1. soldier on to persist steadfastly in one's work; persevere.

   to soldier on until the work is done.

soldier British  

/ ˈsəʊldʒə /

noun

1. 1. a person who serves or has served in an army

   2. Also called: common soldier.  a noncommissioned member of an army as opposed to a commissioned officer

2. a person who works diligently for a cause

3. a low-ranking member of the Mafia or other organized crime ring

4. zoology

   1. an individual in a colony of social insects, esp ants, that has powerful jaws adapted for defending the colony, crushing large food particles, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      soldier ant

5. informal a strip of bread or toast that is dipped into a soft-boiled egg

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verb

1. to serve as a soldier

2. obsolete to malinger or shirk

Other Word Forms

• nonsoldier noun
• soldiership noun

Etymology

Origin of soldier

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English souldiour, from Old French soudier, so(i)dier, equivalent to soulde “pay” (from Latin solidus; sol ² ) + -ier -ier ²

Example Sentences

High in the treetops of a South American rainforest, scientists have identified a tiny soldier termite with a surprisingly whale-like appearance.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Her workers and soldier ants, those that protect the nest, are all female and will eventually number in the hundreds of thousands.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Joe Kent, a former special operations soldier who completed 11 combat deployments, including in Iraq, said he had supported Trump’s promise of not getting involved in “never-ending wars” and felt betrayed.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

You might guess that Ahtoniemi is a soldier in the Finnish army, but his preparedness is instead related to his work at nationwide supermarket business S Group.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Each one has the name of the soldier written on the front.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• commando
• fighter
• guard
• guerrilla
• marine
• mercenary
• officer
• paratrooper
• pilot
• trooper
• veteran
• volunteer