sapper
noun
a soldier employed in the construction of fortifications, trenches, or tunnels that approach or undermine enemy positions.
Showing results for sapper.
Search instead for
Sappers.
sapper
American
[sap-er]
/ ˈsæp ər /
noun
sapper
1
British
/ ˈsæpə /
noun
-
a soldier who digs trenches
-
(in the British Army) a private of the Royal Engineers
Sapper
2
British
/ ˈsæpə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of sapper
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Of course, it slows down the movement of troops," said the commander of a nine-man sapper squad with the call sign Dill.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2023
As for the vast stretches of minefields still lying in front of Ukraine's counter-attack - Dill, the sapper squad commander near Bakhmut, was quietly confident.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2023
A sapper contracted a fever and realized that her wisdom teeth were coming in.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2017
Instead he became an improbable sapper in 560 Field Company, which he later described as "a very working-class unit trying to build some patently inadequate defences against invasion on the coasts of East Anglia".
From The Guardian ● Oct. 1, 2012
He promised that we would soon have a satire acted upon the rebels, writ by the notorious wit Major-General Burgoyne, with curtain-tunes and airs by this same excellent sapper to please the crowd.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Others buried there include a recipient of the Victoria Cross, George Wheeler, and the grandfather of the actress Charlotte Rampling – Sapper Harris Johnson Rampling.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
Sapper Connor Morrison, 20, of 23 Parachute Engineer Regiment stationed in Woodbridge, Suffolk, collapsed during a group run on 21 July 2022.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024
Erlick was 14 and Sapper 12 when Leifer arrived at the school from Israel in 2000 first as a head of religion.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
Meyer, Erlich and Sapper were in court for Wednesday’s brief hearing.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
Josephine waited, docile and ready, but the Square's attention was now focussed upon Ernestine, her young man and the generous Sapper.
From The Exploits of Juve Being the Second of the Series of the "Fantômas" Detective Tales by Émile Souvestre
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
