comrade

noun

com·​rade ˈkäm-ˌrad How to pronounce comrade (audio)
-rəd,
 especially British  -ˌrād
1
a
: 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
comradeliness noun
comradely adjective
comradeship 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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Hero Tanjiro Kamado, a boy who joined the Demon Slayer Corps after his younger sister Nezuko was transformed into a demon, finds himself and his Demon Slayer comrades inside the demons’ stronghold – the Infinity Castle, where the scene is set for the final battle between Corps and demons. Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 28 June 2025 Since then, he has been contacted by several other Twins Platoon veterans and their relatives, amassing additional material that paints a more complete picture of his comrades’ wartime experiences, as well as their lives after Vietnam. Nick Woltman, Twin Cities, 15 June 2025 Her comrades are gone, but visions of one of them, Manon, continue to haunt her. Marta Balaga, Variety, 8 June 2025 The troops earned the same eight pence a day as their British comrades, minus deductions for food and uniforms. / Cbs News, CBS News, 13 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for comrade

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1544, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of comrade was in 1544

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Comrade.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comrade. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

comrade

noun
com·​rade ˈkäm-ˌrad How to pronounce comrade (audio)
-rəd
: a close friend or associate
comradely adjective
comradeship noun

More from Merriam-Webster on comrade

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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