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Synonyms

foot soldier

American  

noun

  1. an infantryman.

  2. a dedicated low-level follower.

foot soldier British  

noun

  1. an infantryman

"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

Etymology

Origin of foot soldier

First recorded in 1615–25

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.

Friend of AI: Iraklis Pappas, global head of AI at Colgate-Palmolive, is a foot soldier in an increasingly high-stakes battle taking place across American corporations.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Speaking about the Mind Flayer, he says, “If the Demogorgon was just his foot soldier, Vecna’s his five-star general.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 20, 2025

"He was an enthusiastic foot soldier in that conspiracy," Erik Kenerson, a prosecutor, told the judge on Friday.

From Reuters • Sep. 1, 2023

He added that he attended the conference as a "foot soldier and spear carrier of the Conservative Party, purely in a supportive role to remind the world of what we did in Glasgow".

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2022

Vonetta took off like a foot soldier in Miss Trotter’s army.

From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia

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.