soldier

[ sohl-jer ]

/ ˈsoʊl dʒər /

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See synonyms for: soldier / soldiers on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service.

an enlisted person, as distinguished from a commissioned officer: the soldiers' mess and the officers' mess.

a person of military skill or experience: George Washington was a great soldier.

a person who contends or serves in any cause: a soldier of the Lord.

Also called button man .Slang. a low-ranking member of a crime organization or syndicate.

Entomology.

a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped female ants or termites specialized, as with powerful jaws, to defend the colony from invaders.
a similar member of a caste of worker bees, specialized to protect the hive.

a brick laid vertically with the narrower long face out.Compare rowlock (def. 2).

Informal. a person who avoids work or pretends to work; loafer; malingerer.

verb (used without object)

to act or serve as a soldier.

Informal. to loaf while pretending to work; malinger: He was soldiering on the job.

Verb Phrases

soldier on, to persist steadfastly in one's work; persevere: to soldier on until the work is done.

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Origin of soldier

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English souldiour, from Old French soudier, so(i)dier, equivalent to soulde “pay” (from Latin solidus; see sol²) + -ier -ier²

OTHER WORDS FROM soldier

sol·dier·ship, nounnon·sol·dier, noun

Words nearby soldier

solatium, sold, Soldan, solder, soldering iron, soldier, soldier beetle, soldier bird, soldier crab, soldierfish, soldier fly

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use soldier in a sentence

The shading of a cell indicates the number of soldiers placed.
Can You Reach The Summit First?|Zach Wissner-Gross|September 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
That year, the Union Army furnished some 2,020 artificial legs and 1,441 artificial arms to its soldiers.
Times of strife can lead to medical innovation—when governments are willing|By Jeffrey Clemens/The Conversation|September 9, 2020|Popular-Science
Take, for instance, the financial hit that the United States carries each time one of its former soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan commits violent crimes back on the home front.
The Hidden Costs of War: Vet Crimes|Nick Fouriezos|August 19, 2020|Ozy
Getting a haircut is supposed to be a risky act tantamount to being a soldier at war.
Online Learning Is Here to Stay|Sara-Ellen Amster|August 7, 2020|Voice of San Diego

A soldier who loses a leg and a soldier who returns home safe to a new baby will generally, a year or two later, be roughly as happy as they were before those events.
The scariest thing about global warming (and Covid-19)|David Roberts|July 7, 2020|Vox
A soldier in the service of ideals and aspirations that formed his core.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The story of the soldier returning home to a country he no longer recognizes is a very old one.
A Veteran’s View: NYC Cold War Between Cops and City Hall|Matt Gallagher|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Sabrine reports that the latest demands by ISIS militants are three prisoners for every captive soldier.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In their midst stands a soldier with the Lebanese armed forces in a red beret, sporting an assault rifle and an unblinking stare.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The families had gathered that Sunday to remember Ali Bazzal, a soldier whom the Nusra Front declared they had executed on Dec. 6.
A Sunni-Shia Love Story Imperiled by al Qaeda|Ruth Michaelson|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After relievedly giving the pistol to the nearest soldier, he stumbled quickly over to Brion and took his hand.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)
Captain Duffield wrote two messages, giving one to Harry, and the other to the soldier who was to accompany him.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
To Harry's surprise, the soldier detailed to go with him proved to be a boy, not much older than himself.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The other was the spirited portrait of Baron von Friedericks, a happy combination of cavalier and soldier in its manly strength.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
Heavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman

British Dictionary definitions for soldier

soldier

/ (ˈsəʊldʒə) /

noun

a person who serves or has served in an army
Also called: common soldier a noncommissioned member of an army as opposed to a commissioned officer

a person who works diligently for a cause

a low-ranking member of the Mafia or other organized crime ring

zoology

an individual in a colony of social insects, esp ants, that has powerful jaws adapted for defending the colony, crushing large food particles, etc
(as modifier)soldier ant

informal a strip of bread or toast that is dipped into a soft-boiled egg

verb (intr)

to serve as a soldier

obsolete, slang to malinger or shirk

Word Origin for soldier

C13: from Old French soudier, from soude (army) pay, from Late Latin solidus a gold coin, from Latin: firm

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

soldier

Origin of soldier

OTHER WORDS FROM soldier

Words nearby soldier

Words related to soldier

How to use soldier in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for soldier

Word Origin for soldier