minion
Americannoun
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minions
plural
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a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power.
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a favored or highly regarded person.
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a minor official.
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Printing. a 7-point type.
adjective
noun
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a favourite or dependant, esp a servile or fawning one
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a servile agent
the minister's minions
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a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 7 point
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of minion
1490–1500; < Middle French mignon, for Old French mignot dainty < ?
Explanation
Your minions, if you are lucky enough to have any, are those people who are devoted to you and entirely dependent on you. If you borrow money from a bully and don't pay it back, he might send one of his minions after you. A minion is nothing more than a yes-man, a nameless faceless servant. It is a negative term implying that your only importance is from the person who orders you around. Corporate presidents may have minions to do their dirty work such as firing employees who have made a mistake. If a celebrity comes to town, minions will come ahead of time to make sure that everything is to the celebrity's liking.
Vocabulary lists containing minion
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Metamorphosis
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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:
“Because ‘helpful minion in a power suit’ was taken, so I evolved into goblin mode,” came the reply, according to another post.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
As was the lesson of “Saltburn,” never antagonize a minion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
The franchise's third film caused chaos in UK cinemas back in 2022, and the boss of animator Illumination introduced some new characters entering the minion world.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2024
She added, referring to the Schlapps, “It was like you were promoting a king and a queen. … I did did not feel valued because I was just a minion to do their bidding.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 28, 2023
An angel from heaven or a minion from hell?
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
Don’t deploy AI minions to “do the boring work” for you, as so many sales pitches argue; use it as a savant collaborator to explore uncertainty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Unfortunately, rebuilding the agency will not be nearly as easy as it was for Musk and his minions to tear it down.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026
So is virtually everything else about this man and his minions.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2025
The spy ring referred to themselves as the "minions", inspired by the yellow sidekicks of the villain Gru in the Despicable Me children's film franchise.
From BBC ● May 12, 2025
His minions follow, and he peels out, leaving the truth behind.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
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.
