legion
Americannoun
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legions
plural
-
a division of the Roman army, usually comprising 3000 to 6000 soldiers.
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a military or semimilitary unit.
-
the Legion.
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any large group of armed men.
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any great number of persons or things; multitude.
adjective
noun
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a military unit of the ancient Roman army made up of infantry with supporting cavalry, numbering some three to six thousand men
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any large military force
the French Foreign Legion
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(usually capital) an association of ex-servicemen
the British Legion
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(often plural) any very large number, esp of people
adjective
Usage
What is a legion? A legion is a large group of people or things, most commonly soldiers, as in World-famous author Stephen King has a legion of fans. Legion can also describe a very large number, as in The number of soccer fans around the world is legion. During the Roman Empire, legion referred to a division of the army that numbered between 3,000 to 6,000 soldiers. As a result, we use legion to refer to a large number of soldiers. However, legion is now used more generally to mean any big group of people or things. Example: The city was filled with legions of fans after the rock star announced they would perform a concert there.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of legion
1175–1225; Middle English legi ( o ) un (< Old French ) < Latin legiōn- (stem of legiō ) picked body of soldiers, equivalent to leg ( ere ) to gather, choose, read + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A legion is a horde or a large number of people or things. It was originally a term for a military unit. In Roman times, a legion was a large unit of men in the army, and the word is still used in many militaries. However, it also means a whole bunch of people doing anything. If someone has many fans, you can say legion of fans or legions of fans, but either way, that's a lot of fans. There are legions of stars in the sky. When you see legion, you can be sure there's an awful lot of something.
Vocabulary lists containing legion
Ancient Rome - Introductory
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Ancient Rome - Middle School and High School
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Inherit the Wind
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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.
See Examples For:
Even so, there were signs the band would attract an adoring legion of fans.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
SpaceX doesn’t directly compete with China’s launch providers; the nation’s two major conglomerates and its legion of startups primarily sell to their own government.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026
“Like we are not standing by ourselves, we are a legion, basically.”
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2026
It joins the legion of startups with a name referencing The Lord of the Rings—in Elvish, Mirendil roughly means “friend of precious things.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
“Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans.”
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
Mr. Hansen, who became a celebrity in the mid-2000s for catching child predators in hidden-camera sting operations, has legions of fans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
Whether by sea, by air or by upscale shopping street, La Jolla is likely to grab you, especially in fall after the summer tourist legions have retreated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
But Cohen was alarmed to learn that his discovery was now being promoted by legions of longevity seekers, fitness enthusiasts and wellness influencers as “exercise in a bottle.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Christopher Nolan's adaptation of "The Odyssey" has not only lured legions of fans to cinemas, but sparked huge interest in the UK in Homer's epic poem and other Greek and Roman mythology works.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
This Ptolemaic Egypt is an exquisite corpse, a dead polity that is somehow still ambulatory, only waiting for a stake to be put through its heart by the legions of Augustus.
From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro
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.
