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

The Ottomans deployed field artillery and Janissary infantry armed with matchlocks in a defensive formation called tabur jangi, in which carts and wagons were used to build barricades on the battlefield. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026

George is an infantry officer, originally enlisting in the Army in 1982 before earning his commission at West Point in 1988. —Steve Beynon, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2026

According to his biography on the Army's website, George received his commission as an infantry officer from West Point in 1988 and deployed during Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. —Jennifer Jacobs, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2026

The potential ground operation would reportedly fall short of a full-scale invasion but could involve raids by a mixture of Special Operations forces and conventional infantry troops, the officials were quoted as saying. —Dylan Butts, CNBC, 30 Mar. 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.