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  • sapper
    sapper
    noun
    a soldier employed in the construction of fortifications, trenches, or tunnels that approach or undermine enemy positions.
  • Sapper
    Sapper
    noun
    real name Herman Cyril McNeile . 1888–1937, British novelist, author of the popular thriller Bull-dog Drummond (1920) and its sequels
Synonyms

sapper

American  
[sap-er] / ˈsæp ər /

noun

  1. a soldier employed in the construction of fortifications, trenches, or tunnels that approach or undermine enemy positions.


sapper 1 British  
/ ˈsæpə /

noun

  1. a soldier who digs trenches

  2. (in the British Army) a private of the Royal Engineers

"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

Sapper 2 British  
/ ˈsæpə /

noun

  1. real name Herman Cyril McNeile . 1888–1937, British novelist, author of the popular thriller Bull-dog Drummond (1920) and its sequels

"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

Etymology

Origin of sapper

First recorded in 1620–30; sap 2 + -er 1


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:

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

He was a sapper in the Royal Engineers, attached to the Parachute Regiment for a few days, with the specific job of clearing barricades.

From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2018

A sapper contracted a fever and realized that her wisdom teeth were coming in.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 4, 2017

The key figure in this regard is the working-class sapper Jack Firebrace, superbly played by Lee Ross, who learns by letter of the loss of his son to diptheria.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 28, 2010

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

It concluded "on the balance of probabilities Sapper Morrison died of exertional heatstroke".

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024

"Had effective measures been applied immediately, Sapper Morrison may have survived," he said.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2024

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

Sapper was pregnant when she testified at Leifer’s six-week trial and said she lost the unborn baby a week before the verdicts.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 27, 2023

Sapper Pinch was a friend of mine, with one or two near relations in the R.A.M.C.

From Notes of a Camp-Follower on the Western Front by E. W. (Ernest William) Hornung

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