minion

[ min-yuhn ]
See synonyms for: minionminions on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power.

  2. a favored or highly regarded person.

  1. a minor official.

  2. Printing. a 7-point type.

adjective
  1. dainty; elegant; trim; pretty.

Origin of minion

1
1490–1500; <Middle French mignon, for Old French mignot dainty < ?

Words that may be confused with minion

Words Nearby minion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use minion in a sentence

  • Pranab Mukherjee, a minion brought in primarily to help speed up bank loans to Sanjay, is currently the president of India.

    Hold Onto Your Penis | David Frum, Justin Green | November 29, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Even worse, Rajiv Shah, the new head of USAID, is a Hillary “minion,” as one insider puts it, who has hardly put up a fight.

    Hillary's Power Grab | Tara McKelvey | January 14, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Falser than the Bank of Fancy, frailer than a shilling glove, Puppet to a father's anger, minion to a nabob's love!

  • The minion of a Czar and the representative of a nation cannot be united in one and the same person.

    The Arena | Various
  • I was but planning with this minion here some way to freshen your spirits.

    The Proud Prince | Justin Huntly McCarthy
  • I will have a garment reach to my taille; Then am I a minion, for I wear the new guise.

    The Romany Rye | George Borrow
  • It seemed as if he would scarce ever again discover the carnate dwelling-place of the haunting minion of his imagination.

    The Well-Beloved | Thomas Hardy

British Dictionary definitions for minion

minion

/ (ˈmɪnjən) /


noun
  1. a favourite or dependant, esp a servile or fawning one

  2. a servile agent: the minister's minions

  1. a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 7 point

adjective
  1. dainty, pretty, or elegant

Origin of minion

1
C16: from French mignon, from Old French mignot, of Gaulish origin

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