Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
dictionary
thesaurus
view recents

comrade

noun
Save Word
com·​rade | \ ˈkäm-ˌrad How to pronounce comrade (audio) , -rəd, especially British -ˌrād \

Definition of comrade

1a : an intimate friend or associate : companion " … reflecting upon all my comrades that were drowned … "— Daniel Defoe
b : a fellow soldier comrades in battle
2 [from its use as a form of address by communists] : communist
Other Words from comrade Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about comrade

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from comrade

comradeliness \ ˈkäm-​ˌrad-​lē-​nəs How to pronounce comrade (audio) \ noun
comradely adjective
comradeship \ ˈkäm-​ˌrad-​ˌship How to pronounce comrade (audio) \ noun

Did You Know?

In Latin, camara or camera denoted a vaulted ceiling or roof. Later, the word simply mean “room, chamber” and was inherited by many European languages with that meaning. In the Spanish, the word became cámara, and a derivative of that was camarada “a group of soldiers quartered in a room” and hence “fellow soldier, companion.” That Spanish word was borrowed into French as camarade and then into Elizabethan English as both camerade and comerade.

Examples of comrade in a Sentence

He enjoys spending time with his old army comrades. the boy, and two others who are known to be his comrades, are wanted for questioning by the police
Recent Examples on the Web Some ran alone, while others crossed the finish line alongside a comrade. — Morgan Watkins, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky Derby Festival 2021: Marathon makes a comeback as runners happily hit finish line," 24 Apr. 2021 Octavia Spencer, 50, stars as Emily opposite Melissa McCarthy as Lydia, her comrade in arms and a childhood best friend. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "Whoopi Goldberg wants to add to the very short list of older Black female superheroes," 22 Apr. 2021 Viewers are left to wonder what Hector's former comrade Isaac (Adetokumboh M'Cormack), who ended season 3 by amassing his own demon army, might have to say about this. — Christian Holub, EW.com, "Netflix's Castlevania anime to end with upcoming season 4," 16 Apr. 2021 The heart-wrenching, infuriating story of Black Panther Fred Hampton’s (Daniel Kaluuya) betrayal by his comrade William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield), and his subsequent assassination by the U.S. government, has a number of filmic forebears. — Lisa Rosen, Los Angeles Times, "The best clues as to what will take Oscar’s best picture come from the past," 7 Apr. 2021 Undeterred, Kapaun marched over and pushed the enemy solider aside, saving his comrade. — Luis Martinez, ABC News, "Korean War chaplain's remains ID'd, was interred as unknown in US grave for 70 years," 8 Mar. 2021 The show's plot takes place shortly after the events of Avengers: Endgame and sees former Avenger Wanda struggling with her grief over the death of her lover and comrade Vision (Paul Bettany). — Ineye Komonibo, refinery29.com, "Even The Minds Behind WandaVision Struggled To Piece Together Its Storyline," 4 Feb. 2021 Jackson and King met in 1956 when King's closest comrade, the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, invited her to support the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. — NBC News, "From Coretta Scott King to Ella Baker: These women's ideas were key to MLK's work," 18 Jan. 2021 Two days after takeoff, a CIA aircraft finally spotted Ray’s parachute, and men helicoptered in to locate their comrade. — Sarah Scoles, Popular Science, "A CIA spyplane crashed outside Area 51 a half-century ago. This explorer found it.," 5 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'comrade.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

See More

First Known Use of comrade

1544, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

History and Etymology for comrade

Middle French camarade group sleeping in one room, roommate, companion, from Old Spanish camarada, from cámara room, from Late Latin camera, camara — more at chamber

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about comrade

Time Traveler for comrade

Time Traveler

The first known use of comrade was in 1544

See more words from the same year

Statistics for comrade

Last Updated

7 May 2021

Cite this Entry

“Comrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comrade. Accessed 12 May. 2021.

Style: MLA
MLACheck Mark Icon ChicagoCheck Mark Icon APACheck Mark Icon Merriam-WebsterCheck Mark Icon

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for comrade

comrade

noun
How to pronounce comrade (audio)

English Language Learners Definition of comrade

: a close friend you have worked with, been in the military with, etc.
—used as a title for a member of a communist party

See the full definition for comrade in the English Language Learners Dictionary

comrade

noun
com·​rade | \ ˈkäm-ˌrad How to pronounce comrade (audio) , -rəd \

Kids Definition of comrade

: companion sense 1

More from Merriam-Webster on comrade

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for comrade

Nglish: Translation of comrade for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of comrade for Arabic Speakers

Comments on comrade

What made you want to look up comrade? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

veracity

Listen to the pronunciation of veracity

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Star Wars Words Quiz

  • cu jedi training
  • The bounty portion of bounty hunters (such as Boba Fett) comes from a Latin word meaning
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Typeshift

Anagram puzzles meet word search.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games