minion
Americannoun
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a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power.
-
a favored or highly regarded person.
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a minor official.
-
Printing. a 7-point type.
adjective
noun
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a favourite or dependant, esp a servile or fawning one
-
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
She was also a severe asthmatic, always followed by a "frightened minion carrying her asthma inhaler, as though it were a crown, or a sceptre of some sort".
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025
No time was wasted in deactivating her account, although whether that was done by Goldberg's hand or a Twitter minion is unclear.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2022
To a long list of professional milestones, Barr is adding toady, minion and yes man.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 2019
He already felt like enough of a misfit without trying to explain his new undead minion.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
His online minions attack me fiercely over last week’s column.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 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
If you’re wondering whether and how often your children should be vaccinated, I say you should follow the advice of your doctor rather than the mutterings of Kennedy and his minions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025
That fiction provided the pretext for DOGE’s demands that agency after agency grant its minions free access to the most private data they had on citizens and non-citizens alike.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2025
With one of the Wicked Queen’s minions, anything could be waiting for them.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
