veteran

noun

vet·​er·​an ˈve-tə-rən 

ˈve-trən

1

a

: a former member of the armed forces

b

: an old soldier of long service

2

: a person of long experience usually in some occupation or skill (such as politics or the arts)

veteran adjective

Synonyms

• vet
• expert
• professional
• old-timer
• warhorse
• master

Examples of veteran in a Sentence

a veteran of the political scene

He's a 10-year veteran with the team.

Recent Examples on the Web

Vance, a Marine veteran, is touring a multi-agency Federal Joint Operations Center as well as a Federal Mobile Command Center. —Sarah Beth Hensley, ABC News, 20 June 2025

According to Whitney Decker, Travis Decker, a veteran, was suffering from mental health issues at the time. —Sophie Clark, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 June 2025

The Penguins have a lot of veterans on this team, and Muse was hired primarily to guide the new wave of Penguins, which will arrive in the coming seasons. —Josh Yohe, New York Times, 20 June 2025

Who was John O’Keefe? O’Keefe was a 16-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 19 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin veteranus, from veteranus, adjective, old, of long experience, from veter-, vetus old — more at wether

First Known Use

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

veteran

noun

vet·​er·​an ˈvet-ə-rən 

ˈve-trən

1

: a person who has had long experience (as in politics or the arts)

2

: a former member of the armed forces especially during wartime

veteran adjective