mercenary

1 of 2

noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce mercenary (audio)
-ne-rē
plural mercenaries
: one that serves merely for wages
especially : a soldier hired into foreign service
mercenaries who guaranteed the success of the rebellion B. F. Reilly

mercenary

2 of 2

adjective

1
: serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal
also : greedy
2
: hired for service in the army of a foreign country
mercenarily adverb
mercenariness noun

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

Noun an army of foreign mercenaries Adjective His motives in choosing a career were purely mercenary. they were a mercenary couple, who defined themselves not by what they were but by what they owned
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.
Noun
The Kremlin maintains that mercenaries are subject to criminal prosecution and not entitled to prisoner-of-war protections under international law. Chris Lau, CNN Money, 17 May 2025 Even if the war in Ukraine ends soon, as President Trump has promised, Moscow’s mercenaries will still be at work dividing their African cake. Nicolas Niarchos, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Adjective
Top Gun is streaming on Paramount+ and Prime Video, while Top Gun: Maverick is streaming on Paramount+. ‘Willow’ (1988) Val Kilmer stars as the mercenary Madmartigan opposite his then-real-life wife, Joanne Whalley as Sorsha, the daughter of the evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh) in Willow. Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025 And how to be optimally developmental and transactional in an increasingly mercenary environment. Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mercenary

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Latin mercenarius, irregular from merced-, merces wages — more at mercy

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mercenary was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary. Accessed 22 May. 2025.

Kids Definition

mercenary

1 of 2 noun
mer·​ce·​nary ˈmərs-ᵊn-ˌer-ē How to pronounce mercenary (audio)
plural mercenaries
: one that serves only for wages
especially : a soldier hired by a foreign country to fight in its army

mercenary

2 of 2 adjective
1
: serving only for the pay or reward
mercenary armies
mercenary soldier
2
: greedy for money
mercenary business owners

More from Merriam-Webster on mercenary

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