soldier

noun sol·dier \ ˈsōl-jər \

Definition of soldier

1 a :one engaged in military service and especially in the army

b :an enlisted man or woman

c :a skilled warrior

2 :a militant leader, follower, or worker

3 a :one of a caste of wingless sterile termites usually differing from workers in larger size and head and long jaws

b :one of a type of worker ants distinguished by exceptionally large head and jaws

4 play \ˈsō-jər, ˈsōl-\ :one who shirks work

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soldierly

play \ˈsōl-jər-lē\ adjective or adverb

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soldiership

play \ˈsōl-jər-ˌship\ noun

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Examples of soldier in a Sentence

Many soldiers were wounded in combat.
one of the goals of war is to keep as many soldiers as possible from being killed

Recent Examples of soldier from the Web

GOTEMBA, Japan — The Japanese soldiers jumped out of the jeeps, unloaded the antitank missiles and dropped to the ground.

— motoko rich, New York Times, "A Pacifist Japan Starts to Embrace the Military," 29 Aug. 2017
A monument in Columbus at the Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery marks the site where 2260 Confederate soldiers are buried.

— Cincinnati.com, "Residents demand Confederate monument be returned," 22 Aug. 2017
Right now, Portsmouth is home to a monument dedicated to 655 unspecific Confederate soldiers who died in the area around the town.

— lilian min, Cosmopolitan, "There's Now A Petition To Replace A Confederate Statue with Missy Elliott," 21 Aug. 2017
Every month civilians and soldiers are killed on both sides.

— seth j. frantzman, National Review, "Ukraine’s Army Needs Equipment from the U.S., Not All of It Weapons," 18 Aug. 2017
In other places, protesters called for the removal of local statues, and in Durham, North Carolina, protesters removed a statue of a Confederate soldier themselves.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Social Media Reacts to Trump's Comments on Confederate Statues," 17 Aug. 2017
The Capitol building’s National Statuary Hall Collection holds over a dozen statues honoring Confederate soldiers and politicians, ABC News reports.

— paula rogo, Essence.com, "Sen. Cory Booker Wants To Remove Confederate Memorials From The U.S. Capitol Building," 17 Aug. 2017
A local mentalist who is bringing his show to Miami Beach has experience performing as an Israeli soldier.

— sergio carmona, Jewish Journal, "Mentalist performed for troops while serving in the IDF," 10 Aug. 2017
At some point, the elder Sater got involved in organized crime, running a long-term extortion racket in Brighton Beach with a Genovese-family soldier.

— andrew rice, Daily Intelligencer, "The Original Russia Connection," 3 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of soldier

Middle English soudeour, from Anglo-French soudeer, soudeour mercenary, from soudee shilling's worth, wage, from sou, soud shilling, from Late Latin solidus solidus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

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