squaddie

British

/ ˈskwɒdɪ /

noun

slang a private soldier Compare swaddy

"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 squaddie

C20: from _squad

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.

Last year Boyega showed off his range, appearing in the title role of Woyzeck, playing a squaddie driven to madness, in a radical reinterpretation of the 19th-century Georg Büchner drama at the Old Vic theatre.

From The Guardian • Mar. 10, 2018

"At first it was very embarrassing: I used to be a roughy-toughy squaddie, I'd fight anybody and do anything. I do find it difficult to accept it, but I will speak to anybody about it."

From BBC • Mar. 5, 2017

A number thoroughly enjoyed the removal of awkward squaddie Chris Chope from a plum role on the Council of Europe.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023