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.
Leaving the theater, he chants, “I want to be a paratrooper, I want to be a paratrooper.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
As he finished helping a fellow trainee gear up, one paratrooper wished another good luck with a firm handshake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The paratrooper, outfitted with a cheap plastic chute, never lived up to his promise, even if deployed from the second floor of a school classroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
A British paratrooper killed serving in Ukraine told his family to "be proud" and not "remember him with sadness", in a letter to be opened in the event of his death.
From BBC ● Dec. 17, 2025
You are responsible for maintaining your space suit in the same way that a paratrooper is responsible for packing and maintaining his own parachute.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
