infantry

noun

in·​fan·​try ˈin-fən-trē 

plural infantries

1

a

: soldiers trained, armed, and equipped to fight on foot

b

: a branch of an army composed of these soldiers

2

: an infantry regiment or division

Did you know?

The Italian word fante (from Latin infans, “infant, child”) originally meant “child,” later “youth, boy,” and then “servant.” In the 14th century, fante also took on the sense “foot soldier.” In Renaissance times, the fanteria, foot soldiers collectively, became a significant branch of arms, and the Italian word infanteria, was borrowed into English in the 1500s.

Examples of infantry in a Sentence

He joined the infantry after leaving school.

Recent Examples on the Web

But rights activists told NBC News the offer could be a trap that would see students in the thick of the fighting in Ukraine, risking being drafted into front-line infantry units with no way out until the war ends. —Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 12 May 2026

The author of Don Quixote (1605, 1615), one of the great works of Spanish literature, Miguel de Cervantes enlisted as a soldier in the Spanish infantry in 1570. —René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 May 2026

The Soviets produced many tank designs during the interwar years, which were similarly grouped based on the infantry/cavalry classification scheme. —Matthew S Williams, Interesting Engineering, 7 May 2026

The brilliant design was first popularized by members of the special forces, and then (in part because of movies like Zero Dark Thirty and video games like Call of Duty), the pattern spread to the infantry. —Time, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle French & Old Italian; Middle French infanterie, from Old Italian infanteria, from infante boy, foot soldier, from Latin infant-, infans

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

infantry

noun

in·​fan·​try ˈin-fən-trē 

plural infantries

: a branch of an army made up of soldiers trained, armed, and equipped to fight on foot

Etymology

from early French infanterie and early Italian infanteria, both meaning "infantry," from early Italian infante "infant, boy, foot soldier," from Latin infans "infant"

Word Origin

In the Middle Ages in France, a young soldier from a good family who was not yet a knight was called enfant, which means "child." Likewise, in Italy a soldier moving on foot behind a knight riding a horse was an infante. Later, Italian foot soldiers as a group became known as infanteria, which was borrowed into French as infanterie and into English as infantry.