civilian

1 of 2

noun

ci·​vil·​ian sə-ˈvil-yən 

also -ˈvi-yən

1

: a specialist in Roman or modern civil law

2

a

: one not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force

b

: outsider sense 1

civilian

2 of 2

adjective

1

a

: of, relating to, or made up of civilians

civilian concerns/demands

the civilian population

civilian customers/casualties

The Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom are the highest civilian honors in the United States.

b

: having the status of a civilian

a civilian pilot

2

: operated or controlled by civilians

civilian industry

: possessed by or vested in civilians

civilian authority

3

: intended or suited for use or consumption by civilians

civilian goods

With twin 2,520-horsepower engines and up to 19 seats, the Sikorsky S-92 is among the world's most powerful civilian helicopters.

—Josh Harkinson

Examples of civilian in a Sentence

Noun

The bomb injured 12 civilians.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In 2009, armed men stopped a convoy of civilians, relatives, lawyers and journalists heading to submit election filings in Maguindanao and killed 58 people, at least 32 of them journalists and media workers. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 11 Oct. 2026

While such attacks are not unprecedented — Iranian strikes hit data centers in Bahrain and the UAE earlier this year — their fallout reaches far beyond the battlefield, disrupting the services civilians and businesses rely on. — Lauren Morganbesser, semafor.com, 11 Oct. 2026

Adjective

The rebels’ early progress north of Aleppo had stagnated, and the regime had taken to chucking barrels filled with TNT out of helicopters into crowded civilian areas. — Ben Taub, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026

Buntar also plans to expand its dual-use product lines, applying technologies developed for defense to civilian markets. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1817, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for civilian

• castilian
• cotillion
• pavilion
• postilion
• quadrillion
• reptilian
• vermilion
• vermillion
• billion
• million
• pillion
• trillion

Kids Definition

civilian

noun

ci·​vil·​ian sə-ˈvil-yən 

: a person not on active duty in the armed services or not on a police or firefighting force

civilian adjective

Legal Definition

civilian

1 of 2 noun

ci·​vil·​ian

: a specialist in Roman or modern civil law

civilian

2 of 2 adjective

: of or relating to civil law as distinguished from common law