sapper
noun
a soldier employed in the construction of fortifications, trenches, or tunnels that approach or undermine enemy positions.
sapper
American
[sap-er]
/ ˈsæp ər /
noun
sapper
1
British
/ ˈsæpə /
noun
-
a soldier who digs trenches
-
(in the British Army) a private of the Royal Engineers
Sapper
2
British
/ ˈsæpə /
noun
Etymology
Origin of sapper
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:
"Of course, it slows down the movement of troops," said the commander of a nine-man sapper squad with the call sign Dill.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2023
As for the vast stretches of minefields still lying in front of Ukraine's counter-attack - Dill, the sapper squad commander near Bakhmut, was quietly confident.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2023
A sapper contracted a fever and realized that her wisdom teeth were coming in.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2017
Yet Kip's horror can just as much be ascribed to his role as a sapper as to his race.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 4, 2011
He promised that we would soon have a satire acted upon the rebels, writ by the notorious wit Major-General Burgoyne, with curtain-tunes and airs by this same excellent sapper to please the crowd.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Others buried there include a recipient of the Victoria Cross, George Wheeler, and the grandfather of the actress Charlotte Rampling – Sapper Harris Johnson Rampling.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2025
It stated the ambulance call handler, the paramedic on site and military personnel all missed the opportunity to diagnose Sapper Morrison, and said that clinical guidance to ambulance staff on heatstroke was "not sufficient".
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024
Meyer sat with the youngest sister Sapper in the public gallery of courtroom for Wednesday’s hearing.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 20, 2023
Elly Sapper, 34, later told the court she had questioned whether she wanted to relive the trauma that has affected more than half her life.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
The Sapper paused for a moment to relight his pipe.
From Mufti by H. C. (Herman Cyril) McNeile
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.
