mercenary

1 of 2

noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce mercenary (audio)
-ne-rē
plural mercenaries
: one that serves merely for wages
especially : a soldier hired into foreign service
mercenaries who guaranteed the success of the rebellion B. F. Reilly

mercenary

2 of 2

adjective

1
: serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal
also : greedy
2
: hired for service in the army of a foreign country
mercenarily adverb
mercenariness noun

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

Noun an army of foreign mercenaries Adjective His motives in choosing a career were purely mercenary. they were a mercenary couple, who defined themselves not by what they were but by what they owned
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Based on a cult comic by Greg Rucka and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film followed a group of mercenaries who had the gift of immortality — they could be stabbed and amputated and maimed and mangled and burnt while fighting and still miraculously come back. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 2 July 2025 While on a packed tour bus traversing the deadly 12,000 ft. terrain of the infamous Road to the Sky, McCann and his mountain guide (Fan Bingbing) encounter a group of Nepali mercenaries and must fight to save themselves, the busload of innocent travelers and the local villagers’ homeland. Katcy Stephan, Variety, 16 June 2025
Adjective
The new film — directed by Gareth Edwards — stars Scarlett Johansson as mercenary Zora Bennett and Jonathan Bailey as paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis as Bennett leads a dangerous expedition to secure the genetic material of the world's three largest dinosaurs. Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 5 July 2025 Detractors might argue that lo-fi beats was always mercenary music engineered and optimized to hook sad bois with no taste, and good riddance. Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 2 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for mercenary

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Latin mercenarius, irregular from merced-, merces wages — more at mercy

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mercenary was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

mercenary

1 of 2 noun
mer·​ce·​nary ˈmərs-ᵊn-ˌer-ē How to pronounce mercenary (audio)
plural mercenaries
: one that serves only for wages
especially : a soldier hired by a foreign country to fight in its army

mercenary

2 of 2 adjective
1
: serving only for the pay or reward
mercenary armies
mercenary soldier
2
: greedy for money
mercenary business owners

More from Merriam-Webster on mercenary

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