dragoon
Americannoun
-
(especially formerly) a European cavalryman of a heavily armed troop.
-
a member of a military unit formerly composed of such cavalrymen, as in the British army.
-
(formerly) a mounted infantryman armed with a short musket.
verb (used with object)
-
to set dragoons or soldiers upon; persecute by armed force; oppress.
-
to force by oppressive measures; coerce.
The authorities dragooned the peasants into leaving their farms.
noun
-
(originally) a mounted infantryman armed with a carbine
-
(sometimes capital) a domestic fancy pigeon
-
-
a type of cavalryman
-
( pl; cap when part of a name )
the Royal Dragoons
-
verb
-
to coerce; force
he was dragooned into admitting it
-
to persecute by military force
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dragoonsimple
-
dragoonssimple
-
have dragoonedperfect
-
has dragoonedperfect
-
am dragooningprogressive
-
are dragooningprogressive
-
is dragooningprogressive
-
have been dragooningperfect progressive
-
has been dragooningperfect progressive
Past
-
dragoonedsimple
-
had dragoonedperfect
-
was dragooningprogressive
-
were dragooningprogressive
-
had been dragooningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dragoon
1615–25; < French dragon, special use of dragon dragon, applied first to a pistol hammer (so named because of its shape), then to the firearm, then to the troops so armed
Explanation
These days, you're most likely to hear dragoon used as a verb meaning "force someone to do something," like the way your best friend dragooned you into volunteering for the prom committee. Long ago, dragoons were soldiers who rode horses into battle and were trained to fight either on foot or on horseback. It's easy to mistake dragoon for dragon, and it might not be surprising to know the two words are related. Dragoons were named for one of the weapons they frequently carried, powerful muskets said to "breathe fire," known as dragons. European armies commonly included dragoon regiments from the late 17th century until the early 20th century, and dragoons also fought in the Revolutionary War.
Vocabulary lists containing dragoon
This Week In Words: August 17–23, 2019
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Chains
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Wayne State's Top Ten Words We Should All Use More
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz show up as spies who dragoon Cage into a covert operation that allows the filmmakers to shift to more commercial terrain and bring out the heavy artillery.
From New York Times ● Apr. 21, 2022
He rejected accounts of forced labor as "pure fiction," saying the Japanese army "did not dragoon Korean women to work in its brothels."
From Fox News ● Mar. 8, 2021
Complications ensue when Harry’s old flame and her spy brother dragoon him into thwarting Nazi plans to poison enemy cities with uranium.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2018
The phrasing means to conjure the previous discussion of leapfrogging pasts and futures, but why dragoon that parallel?
From Slate ● Dec. 4, 2015
The burly King strode and clattered along like a dragoon swaggering through the crowd at a country fair.
From Modern Leaders: Being a Series of Biographical Sketches by McCarthy, Justin
The temple’s treasurer, desperate to avoid a scandal, dragoons Gabriel into finding out who’s behind these grisly deeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Two horseshoes also found may relate to agricultural activity, or were lost by horses in the government cavalry, dragoons or artillery as they manoeuvred around the battlefield.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2021
On this date in 1862, Confederate Capt. Sherod Hunter entered Tucson with fewer than 130 dragoons and was greeted with a celebration.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 17, 2016
Lee, in turn, positions Tallmadge and his dragoons at the perilous “tip of the spear” in what could be a war-ending battle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2015
“You remember Dr. Bulkeley told us he used to be a captain of the dragoons in Barbados.”
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
Some of these foreign workers volunteered; but many, like Leo, were dragooned and forced to go to Germany.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 13, 2026
Countries cannot be "dragooned" into joining a coalition aimed at protecting potential peace in Ukraine, Cabinet Office Minister Pat McFadden has said.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025
The premise has the boys, the worst soldiers imaginable, coping with being dragooned into the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2024
An unassuming, enlightened type, he has been dragooned into choosing a bride only because his brawnier and better-loved brother, Prince Charming, is presumed dead after disappearing at war.
From New York Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
Rutherford dragooned the ever-faithful Chadwick into the search for the elusive neutron.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
For Jamin Liu, a former Mathcamper and counselor and now a bioengineering grad student at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Conway’s perpetual dragooning with games was more than just fun.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2020
These efforts form part of a tour-de-force demonstration of command economy agency, dragooning up to 600,000 people and mobilizing materiel from across the USSR.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2019
The daughter of a doctor and a nursing school dean, Ms. Nagle started making up stories as a child, dragooning her two younger sisters into acting them out with her.
From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2018
Even dragooning Vitter’s teenage son, Jack, into making a spot, in which he vouched for his dad’s decency, failed.
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2015
When a warm body was needed, Ernest would recruit almost off the street, like a Hollywood talent spotter dragooning a soda fountain girl into instant stardom.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
