musketeer

noun

mus·​ke·​teer ˌmə-skə-ˈtir 

1

: a soldier armed with a musket

2

[from the musketeers' friendship in the novel Les Trois Mousquetaires (1844) by Alexandre Dumas] : a good friend : buddy

Synonyms of musketeer

• friend
• buddy

Examples of musketeer in a Sentence

the two little musketeers were never seen apart

Recent Examples on the Web

In the 20th century dozens of movies chronicled their adventures, with each era casting its leading man as the noble, brave and loyal, leading musketeer. —Eleanor Beardsley, NPR, 30 Mar. 2026

Bordaz had long theorized that the body of the musketeer was probably buried near the French camp, rather than being taken back to France, so that King Louis XIV could personally attend the burial of his loyal servant. —Jack Guy, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026

While the hero existed — as did Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, or at least musketeers with similar names — most of the actual stories are invented, either by the sensationalist biographer or Dumas himself. —Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 26 Mar. 2026

The musketeer names are code names so that these resistance operatives can keep their real identities secret. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 11 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

modification of Middle French mousquetaire, from mousquet

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for musketeer

• auctioneer
• bandelier
• belvedere
• bombardier
• brigadier
• buccaneer
• cavalier
• chandelier
• chanticleer
• chevalier
• commandeer
• disappear

Kids Definition

musketeer

noun

mus·​ke·​teer ˌməs-kə-ˈti(ə)r 

: a soldier armed with a musket