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Definition of dragoon
1 : a member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed mounted troops
2 : cavalryman
From the M-W Editors
dragoon was our Word of the Day on 12/03/2008. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of dragoon from the Web
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The weekend’s stars are the Virginia militia, British Dragoons and Redcoats—all armed and dressed accordingly.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dragoon'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Illustration of dragoon
Origin and Etymology of dragoon
French dragon dragon, dragoon, from Middle French
dragoon
Definition of dragoon
transitive verb
1 : to subjugate or persecute by harsh use of troops
2 : to force into submission or compliance especially by violent measures
Examples of dragoon in a Sentence
she was dragooned into agreeing to the fraudulent scheme
Recent Examples of dragoon from the Web
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The event was the brainchild of Steve Wojciechowski, who was dragooned into the role of piñata by practically everyone on the dais and who is currently entering into his fourth season as the coach of the Golden Eagles (Yeah, we’ll get to that, I promise).
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The event was the brainchild of Steve Wojciechowski, who was dragooned into the role of piñata by practically everyone on the dais and who is currently entering into his fourth season as the coach of the Golden Eagles (
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The move comes after public outcry over American’s move to shrink legroom, which was announced right about the time United Airlines dragooned a passenger off a plane and Congress berated airline executives for their poor treatment of passengers.
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The experiences of Njinga’s subjects—enslaved, sacrificed, or dragooned into endless wars—remain sadly unrecoverable.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dragoon'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
A dragoon was a mounted European infantryman of the 17th and 18th centuries armed with a firearm called by the same name. No arm-twisting should be needed to get you to believe that the firearm's name, which came to English from French, is derived from its semblance to a fire-breathing dragon when fired. History has recorded the dragonish nature of the dragoons who persecuted the French Protestants in the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV. The persecution by means of the dragoons led to the use of the word dragoon as a verb.
First Known Use of dragoon
1689
DRAGOON Defined for English Language Learners
dragoon
playDefinition of dragoon for English Language Learners
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: a soldier especially in the past who rode a horse and carried a gun
Learn More about dragoon
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See words that rhyme with dragoon Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for dragoon Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about dragoon
Seen and Heard
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