paratrooper
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of paratrooper
Explanation
Paratrooper are soldiers who drop from airplanes via parachutes. A paratrooper isn't anything like a paralegal or paramedic. Rather, a paratrooper is a trooper (soldier) who uses a parachute. Paratroopers drop from airplanes into combat zones and other areas. Paratroopers might bring supplies to an area, or they could be part of an attack on somewhere, such as a terrorist hideout. If you want to be a paratrooper, you'd better be comfortable flying on planes and then jumping out of them. You'd also better hope your parachute opens.
Vocabulary lists containing paratrooper
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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.
Last year a former Paratrooper was found not guilty of murder and attempted murder that day.
From BBC • May 2, 2026
There are plenty of statutes, he said, “that say, if you do X, the government shall pay you, Mr. Veteran, Mr. Paratrooper, Mr. — you know, you name it.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 10, 2019
In late November, Bolsonaro appeared at an anniversary celebration for Brazil’s Paratrooper Infantry Brigade, from which he graduated, in 1977.
From The New Yorker • Mar. 25, 2019
“L.A. Paratrooper, Buddy Capture 200 Italians,” read one newspaper headline.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 20, 2018
The Paratrooper does not sleep well, and he suspects most of the others do not either.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
