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

“These transfers are fuelling Putin’s war machine – this is oil for missiles, oil for artillery and now oil for soldiers,” says Hugh Griffiths, who led the panel from 2014 to 2019.

From BBC

During negotiations to establish the ICC, the US argued that its soldiers might be the subject of politically motivated or frivolous prosecutions.

From BBC

In Dnipro, a steady stream of injured soldiers comes through the doors of one of the country’s many prosthetic centres.

From BBC

Slava, who appears in the film, is both a ceramist and a member of a Ukraine special forces unit who gives weapons training to civilians turned soldiers.

From New York Times

They are also foot soldiers in a power grab.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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