soldier

[ sohl-jer ]

noun

1. a person who serves in an army; a person engaged in military service.
2. an enlisted person, as distinguished from a commissioned officer:

   the soldiers' mess and the officers' mess.

3. a person of military skill or experience:

   George Washington was a great soldier.

4. a person who contends or serves in any cause:

   a soldier of the Lord.

5. Also called button man. Slang. a low-ranking member of a crime organization or syndicate.
6. Entomology.
   1. a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped female ants or termites specialized, as with powerful jaws, to defend the colony from invaders.
   2. a similar member of a caste of worker bees, specialized to protect the hive.
7. a brick laid vertically with the narrower long face out. Compare rowlock ( def 2 ).
8. Informal. a person who avoids work or pretends to work; loafer; malingerer.

verb (used without object)

1. to act or serve as a soldier.
2. Informal. to loaf while pretending to work; malinger:

   He was soldiering on the job.

verb phrase

1. to persist steadfastly in one's work; persevere:

   to soldier on until the work is done.

soldier

/ ˈsəʊldʒə /

noun

1. 1. a person who serves or has served in an army
   2. Also calledcommon soldier a noncommissioned member of an army as opposed to a commissioned officer
2. a person who works diligently for a cause
3. a low-ranking member of the Mafia or other organized crime ring
4. zoology
   1. an individual in a colony of social insects, esp ants, that has powerful jaws adapted for defending the colony, crushing large food particles, etc
   2. ( as modifier )

      soldier ant

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

verb

1. to serve as a soldier
2. obsolete.
   to malinger or shirk

Other Words From

• soldier·ship noun
• non·soldier noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of soldier¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English souldiour, from Old French soudier, so(i)dier, equivalent to soulde “pay” (from Latin solidus; sol ² ) + -ier -ier ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of soldier¹

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

Example Sentences

William McGreanery, 41, died on 15 September 1971, after a soldier opened fire from an Army observation post overlooking the Bogside.

From BBC

Mr McGreanery, a shop assistant, was shot after a member of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards – known as Soldier A - opened fire from an Army sanger overlooking the junctions of Eastway, Lone Moor Road and Westland Street.

From BBC

In interviews with the HET, Soldier A denied that he had shot Mr McGreanery in revenge for the earlier murder of a soldier and insisted it had been a spur of the moment response to a perceived threat.

From BBC

The family of a man who died after being shot by a British soldier more than 50 years ago in Londonderry have been awarded a "significant financial settlement".

From BBC

Former soldier Daniel Khalife has denied asking Iranian agents for help after he escaped from prison.

From BBC

Related Words

• commando
• fighter
• guard
• guerrilla
• marine
• mercenary
• officer
• paratrooper
• pilot
• trooper
• veteran
• volunteer