mercenary

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

Updated on: 14 May 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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See mercenary defined for kids

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

an army of foreign mercenaries

Recent Examples of mercenary from the Web

The movie, starring Ryan Reynolds as the wisecracking mercenary, opens May 18.

— doreen christensen, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Text for a free Slurpee at 7-Eleven," 7 May 2018
The audio recordings of the Russian mercenaries were a huge coup, even if the site did not seem to get much credit for the scoop.

— NBC News, "One tiny corner of the U.S. government pushes back against Russian disinformation," 15 Apr. 2018
Some of the mercenaries even attacked American troops.

— alex ward, Vox, "The real (but small) danger of a US-Russia war over Syria," 14 Apr. 2018
The Pentagon has been reluctant to say how many Russians might have been killed and what relation the mercenaries had to the Kremlin But Mr. Pompeo was blunt.

— michael r. gordon and nancy a. youssef, WSJ, "Mike Pompeo Promises Not to Be a ‘Yes Man’," 12 Apr. 2018
Dozens of the mercenaries wounded in the air strike are being treated in Moscow and St. Petersburg hospitals, according to Russian media reports.

— sabra ayres, latimes.com, "Kremlin confirms Russians were among those killed in U.S. air strike in Syria, but says they were not Russian military," 15 Feb. 2018
Now the foul-mouthed mercenary is back with a sequel that’s gearing up to play in the big leagues — the summer movie season.

— Washington Post, "Summer Movie Preview: ‘Deadpool 2’ is about kindness (truly)," 25 Apr. 2018
In the hilarious clip, Domino tries out for a spot among Deadpool's team of mercenaries.

— sydney scott, Essence.com, "The Quick Read: Bill Cosby Won't Take The Stand In Sexual Assault Retrial," 24 Apr. 2018
The mercenaries were from the Wagner Group, it's been widely reported — co-owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who is close to Vladimir Putin.

— NBC News, "One tiny corner of the U.S. government pushes back against Russian disinformation," 15 Apr. 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

Recent Examples of mercenary from the Web

The game sets you up as a mercenary in the middle days of the same universe as MechWarrior, but instead of piloting multi-ton titans, the player now assumes the role of a mercenary leader.

— steven strom, Ars Technica, "BattleTech is a more tactical, punishing view of mech battling," 3 May 2018
The information operation is funded by a Putin-friendly oligarch, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who just also happens to control a mercenary outfit known as Wagner that has contract troops in Ukraine and Syria.

— trudy rubin, Philly.com, "Report from St. Petersburg: The real story from the Russian troll factory is not what you think | Trudy Rubin," 26 Apr. 2018
The property began life in the early 1990s as a series of stories and novels by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, focused on the fantasy-world adventures of mercenary monster-hunter Geralt of Rivia.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "'The Witcher' Is Coming to Netflix in 2020, Writer Confirms," 21 Apr. 2018
But with each passing week, Pokora became a little bit more mercenary.

— brendan i. koerner, WIRED, "The Young and the Reckless," 17 Apr. 2018
Billy’s boss, the vulgar and mercenary crone Mrs. Mullin (Margaret Colin), couldn’t give two figs for the happiness her joy machine gives to the community: her eyes are on the green, and on Billy.

— junot díaz, The New Yorker, "The Dark Fantasies of “Carousel”," 17 Apr. 2018
The Russian government has quietly embraced its mercenary allies at times — Utkin was photographed receiving an award from Putin in 2016.

— adam taylor, Washington Post, "What we know about the shadowy Russian mercenary firm behind an attack on U.S. troops in Syria," 23 Feb. 2018
But the Kremlin has not been shy about publicly honoring leading mercenary company officials for their services to the motherland.

— owen matthews, Newsweek, "Putin’s Secret Armies Waged War in Syria—Where Will They Fight Next?," 17 Jan. 2018
Not everything about playing this mercenary mutant was as easy for Beetz, who spent four rigorous months with a crew of trainers and stunt doubles.

— kate branch, Vogue, "For Deadpool 2’s Zazie Beetz, Straightening Her Natural Hair Is Not an Option," 11 Apr. 2018