mercenary

1 of 2

noun

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 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

ˌmər-sə-ˈner-ə-lē 

-ˈne-rə-

adverb

mercenariness

ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē-nəs 

-ˌne-rē-

noun

Synonyms

Adjective

• acquisitive
• avaricious
• avid
• coveting
• covetous
• grabby
• grasping
• greedy
• moneygrubbing
• rapacious

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

Noun

Charlize Theron leads a group of immortal mercenaries who use their self-healing powers to help those in need. —Matt Kamen, WIRED, 6 July 2024

In his comments Tuesday, Mr. Putin also accused Western nations of already having instructors in the country under the guise of mercenaries helping Kyiv’s troops use long-range weapons. —Constant Méheut, New York Times, 28 May 2024

Adjective

The figures exclude crimes involving tens of thousands of convicts released from jail to join the war under a program set up by the late Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 22 June 2024

The one saving grace of this mercenary gorefest is its pronounced mean streak; not even adorable moppets are safe from the movie’s nasty, messy, indiscriminate bloodlust, which makes the inexplicable decision to release the movie on Christmas Day even funnier. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 26 Apr. 2024

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

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