legion

1 of 2

noun

le·​gion ˈlē-jən 

1

: the principal unit of the Roman army comprising 3000 to 6000 foot soldiers with cavalry

Caesar and his legions defeated the Gauls.

2

: a large military force

especially : army sense 1a

the French Foreign Legion

3

: a very large number : multitude

won him … a legion of devoted followers

—Irving Kolodin

4

: a national association of ex-servicemen

the American Legion

legion

2 of 2

adjective

: many, numerous

the problems are legion

Synonyms

Noun

• army

Adjective

• many
• numerous
• multiple

Examples of legion in a Sentence

Noun

Legions of people came to see him perform.

joined the French Foreign Legion

Adjective

the obstacles that the programmers had to overcome have been legion

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Of course Swift’s legion of devotees would scoff at the notion that their heroine was anything but a pop goddess, their very own Glinda the Good Witch sent to comfort with lyrical poetry and aid crumpled hearts. —Bryan West, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025

Neither Styles or Horan are expected to make appearances in the Netflix docuseries, which aims to attract legions of One Direction fans globally to the streaming platform. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2025

The new class of investors was legion. —Jim Cramer, CNBC, 28 Sep. 2025

In having a devoted fan base, Metallica recalls another famous Marin band, the Grateful Dead, and its legions of Deadheads. —Paul Liberatore, Mercury News, 26 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin legion-, legio, from legere to gather — more at legend

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1687, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for legion

• region
• collegian
• harijan
• norwegian
• subregion

Kids Definition

legion

noun

le·​gion

ˈlē-jən

1

: the chief unit of the Roman army consisting of 3000 to 6000 foot soldiers with cavalry

2

: army sense 1a

3

: a very large number : multitude