dragoon

[ druh-goon ]
See synonyms for dragoon on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (especially formerly) a European cavalryman of a heavily armed troop.

  2. a member of a military unit formerly composed of such cavalrymen, as in the British army.

  1. (formerly) a mounted infantryman armed with a short musket.

verb (used with object)
  1. to set dragoons or soldiers upon; persecute by armed force; oppress.

  2. to force by oppressive measures; coerce: The authorities dragooned the peasants into leaving their farms.

Origin of dragoon

1
1615–25; <French dragon, special use of dragondragon, applied first to a pistol hammer (so named because of its shape), then to the firearm, then to the troops so armed

Other words from dragoon

  • dra·goon·age, noun
  • un·dra·gooned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use dragoon in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dragoon

dragoon

/ (drəˈɡuːn) /


noun
  1. (originally) a mounted infantryman armed with a carbine

  2. (sometimes capital) a domestic fancy pigeon

    • a type of cavalryman

    • (pl; cap when part of a name): the Royal Dragoons

verb(tr)
  1. to coerce; force: he was dragooned into admitting it

  2. to persecute by military force

Origin of dragoon

1
C17: from French dragon (special use of dragon), soldier armed with a carbine, perhaps suggesting that a carbine, like a dragon, breathed forth fire

Derived forms of dragoon

  • dragoonage, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012