dragoon
Americannoun
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(especially formerly) a European cavalryman of a heavily armed troop.
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a member of a military unit formerly composed of such cavalrymen, as in the British army.
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(formerly) a mounted infantryman armed with a short musket.
verb (used with object)
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to set dragoons or soldiers upon; persecute by armed force; oppress.
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to force by oppressive measures; coerce.
The authorities dragooned the peasants into leaving their farms.
noun
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(originally) a mounted infantryman armed with a carbine
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(sometimes capital) a domestic fancy pigeon
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a type of cavalryman
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( pl; cap when part of a name )
the Royal Dragoons
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verb
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to coerce; force
he was dragooned into admitting it
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to persecute by military force
Other Word Forms
- dragoonage noun
- undragooned adjective
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
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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.
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
"On whose affairs ride you?" demanded the spectral dragoon, laying his horse broadside across mine.
From Cardigan by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
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.
