mercenary

noun mer·ce·nary \ ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē , -ne-rē \

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of mercenary

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

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Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

an army of foreign mercenaries

Recent Examples of mercenary from the Web

Although the exact size and composition of the forces crossing the Euphrates that night is in dispute, the fact of the crossing and the presence of Wagner Group mercenaries is not.

— tod lindberg, WSJ, "A U.S. Battlefield Victory Against Russia’s ‘Little Green Men’," 3 Apr. 2018
An evil corporation, IOI, has even gotten in on the action with an army of mercenaries, hoping to win control of Oasis and of course, sell advertising.

— katie walsh, idahostatesman, "‘Ready Player One’ can’t be a winner without stakes | Idaho Statesman," 29 Mar. 2018
On a mission to take down arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (a delightfully unstable Andy Serkis), the good guys run into mysterious mercenary Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan), who becomes the most formidable challenger to T’Challa’s reign.

— brian truitt, USA TODAY, "Review: Rousing, representative 'Black Panther' is one spectacular superhero," 6 Feb. 2018
Porous frontiers allow a free flow of arms and mercenaries.

— jack losh, Washington Post, "Rebels in the Central African Republic are filling the void of an absent government," 26 Mar. 2018
College coaches are mercenaries, partly because they are treated that way by the people who pay them.

— paul daugherty, Cincinnati.com, "Doc: If Louisville makes the right offer to Chris Mack, that's a very hard 'no' to say," 25 Mar. 2018
The Hurricane Heist PG13 The local authorities have their hands filled when a huge hurricane is headed their way and a group of mercenaries are intent on robbing the local treasury during the impending chaos.

— guy hanford, Ramona Sentinel, "Flickers: 'Midnight Sun' opens Friday," 22 Mar. 2018
Last month, Russian mercenaries fought against US forces in Syria.

— alex ward, Vox, "Trump thinks Russia will help solve the problems it created in the first place," 21 Mar. 2018
Its relationship with the Kremlin is murky and unconfirmed, but its leaders have reportedly received awards in the Kremlin and its mercenaries are trained at the Russian Defense Ministry’s facilities.

— ivan nechepurenko, neil macfarquhar and thomas gibbons-neff, New York Times, "Dozens of Russians Are Believed Killed in U.S.-Backed Syria Attack," 13 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mercenary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of mercenary

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

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

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Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

mercenary

adjective

Definition of mercenary

1 : serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal; also : greedy

2 : hired for service in the army of a foreign country

—

mercenarily

play \ˌmər-sə-ˈner-ə-lē, -ˈne-rə-\ adverb

—

mercenariness

play \ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē-nəs, -ˌne-rē-\ noun

See mercenary defined for English-language learners

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

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