soldier of fortune
noun phrase
: one who follows a military career wherever there is promise of profit, adventure, or pleasure
Examples of soldier of fortune in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
My favorite example of this is Alex Cox’s 1987 masterpiece, Walker, in which Ed Harris plays the American adventurer and soldier of fortune who invaded Nicaragua in the mid-19th century.
—
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Nov. 2024
Take the defiant president who disbands the FBI and refuses to leave the White House, or the gun-toting soldiers of fortune who wear crosses (shades of the Proud Boys, perhaps?).
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Following Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile to Elba, kings and crown princes, ministers and spies, noble ladies and mistresses, soldiers of fortune, inventors, artists and concubines celebrate and negotiate in Vienna, where the fate of Europe is ultimately decided on the dance floor and in the boudoir.
—Ed Meza, Variety, 20 Mar. 2024
This installment of the Legends & Lattes series follows a convalescent soldier of fortune who finds refuge in a small-town bookstore.
10 THE MAID (Ballantine, $18).
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
This installment of the Legends & Lattes series follows a convalescent soldier of fortune who finds refuge in a small-town bookstore.
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2023
This installment of the Legends & Lattes series follows a convalescent soldier of fortune who finds refuge in a small-town bookstore.
4 TRUST (Riverhead, $17).
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
The case centered on a lurid plot in which prosecutors said a transnational crime lord, Paul LeRoux, tasked Mr. Samia, who was then working for him as a soldier of fortune, and two other men with killing Catherine Lee, a real estate broker who Mr. LeRoux believed had stolen from him.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 23 June 2023
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Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 25 Nov. 2024
Take the defiant president who disbands the FBI and refuses to leave the White House, or the gun-toting soldiers of fortune who wear crosses (shades of the Proud Boys, perhaps?).
—Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024
Following Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile to Elba, kings and crown princes, ministers and spies, noble ladies and mistresses, soldiers of fortune, inventors, artists and concubines celebrate and negotiate in Vienna, where the fate of Europe is ultimately decided on the dance floor and in the boudoir.
—Ed Meza, Variety, 20 Mar. 2024
This installment of the Legends & Lattes series follows a convalescent soldier of fortune who finds refuge in a small-town bookstore.
10 THE MAID (Ballantine, $18).
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2023
This installment of the Legends & Lattes series follows a convalescent soldier of fortune who finds refuge in a small-town bookstore.
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 13 Dec. 2023
This installment of the Legends & Lattes series follows a convalescent soldier of fortune who finds refuge in a small-town bookstore.
4 TRUST (Riverhead, $17).
—Becky Meloan, Washington Post, 29 Nov. 2023
The case centered on a lurid plot in which prosecutors said a transnational crime lord, Paul LeRoux, tasked Mr. Samia, who was then working for him as a soldier of fortune, and two other men with killing Catherine Lee, a real estate broker who Mr. LeRoux believed had stolen from him.
—Charlie Savage, New York Times, 23 June 2023
Cite this Entry
“Soldier of fortune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soldier%20of%20fortune. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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