mercenary

1 of 3

noun (1)

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē 

-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 3

adjective

1

: serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal

also : greedy

… they feel that they have been unfairly portrayed as somehow dishonest or mercenary in a highly competitive business with paper-thin profit margins.

—Randy Kennedy

2

: hired for service in the army of a foreign country

mercenarily

ˌmər-sə-ˈner-ə-lē 

-ˈne-rə-

adverb

mercenariness

ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē-nəs 

-ˌne-rē-

noun

mercenariness

3 of 3

noun (2)

mer·​ce·​nar·​i·​ness

-rin-

plural -es

: the quality or state of being mercenary

Synonyms of mercenary

Adjective

• greedy
• eager
• avaricious
• acquisitive

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

Noun (1)

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

Noun

In addition, Lauren Morais plays Lisa Molinari; Diane Morgan plays an associate of Paladin; Cristian Lavin plays a mercenary; and Mary McDonnell will appear in an as-yet-undisclosed role. — ArsTechnica, 15 Aug. 2026

Wolverine chases the kidnappers across the rooftops, battling sword-wielding mercenaries and archers who leave arrows embedded in his body. — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026

Adjective

Lee joins after inking a deal to star in Tygo, a Korean-language entry in the franchise centered on his former child soldier turned mercenary, which is in post-production. — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 17 Aug. 2026

Appearing as push notifications, emails and messages within the settings app, Apple threat notifications are sent to users who may be targeted by mercenary spyware attacks. — Greta Cross, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Adjective

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

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mercenary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• apiary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• bacillary
• beriberi
• bestiary
• breviary
• budgetary

Kids Definition

mercenary

1 of 2 noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmərs-ᵊn-ˌer-ē 

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