as in laborers
a person who does very hard or dull work
he's been a foot soldier for several environmental organizations over the years
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Recent Examples of foot soldiers
Barton’s pseudo-scholarship furnished Christian nationalists with valuable ammunition, but the movement needed foot soldiers.
—
Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
The result is child foot soldiers hired as hitmen, becoming both the perpetrators of crime and the victims of criminals.
—ABC News, 12 June 2026
Traffickers recruit young people, including minors, to serve as foot soldiers in their bloody quest to control drug-trafficking routes across Mexico.
—Steve Fisher, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026
But, as academic mastery has become secondary to political consciousness, students are no longer being molded into informed citizens so much as into ideological foot soldiers.
—Courtney Corbello, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Fans became zealous cultural foot soldiers, streaming, voting and building global communities on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
—Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 21 Mar. 2026
His two foot soldiers now riddled with bullets had bombed the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson on a foggy night nine months earlier and were en route to bomb a Jewish leader’s home when police gunned them down.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
Drone task force security model Haiti National Police Director Andre Jonas Vladimir Paraison said gang leaders are running and hiding while deploying their foot soldiers to the front lines.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Congress has become the president’s foot soldiers.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
The result is child foot soldiers hired as hitmen, becoming both the perpetrators of crime and the victims of criminals.
—ABC News, 12 June 2026
Traffickers recruit young people, including minors, to serve as foot soldiers in their bloody quest to control drug-trafficking routes across Mexico.
—Steve Fisher, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2026
But, as academic mastery has become secondary to political consciousness, students are no longer being molded into informed citizens so much as into ideological foot soldiers.
—Courtney Corbello, Oc Register, 4 Apr. 2026
Fans became zealous cultural foot soldiers, streaming, voting and building global communities on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
—Dan Bilefsky, HollywoodReporter, 21 Mar. 2026
His two foot soldiers now riddled with bullets had bombed the Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson on a foggy night nine months earlier and were en route to bomb a Jewish leader’s home when police gunned them down.
—Jennifer Berry Hawes, ProPublica, 4 Feb. 2026
Drone task force security model Haiti National Police Director Andre Jonas Vladimir Paraison said gang leaders are running and hiding while deploying their foot soldiers to the front lines.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Congress has become the president’s foot soldiers.
—Carlo Versano, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for foot soldiers
Noun
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In fact, in a time when artificial intelligence imperils the livelihoods – and lives – of laborers across economic classes, sumptuous spectacle can be an act of resistance in its own right.—
Eileen G'Sell,
The Conversation,
8 June 2026
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The town attracts large numbers of laborers who work in large gold mines with muddy pools of gold deposits, narrow pits and caves.—
Justin Kabumba,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2026
Noun
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Courts are also deciding lawsuits over whether workers were illegally fired in retaliation for doing their jobs under previous administrations.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
14 June 2026
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Much of his business relies on workers from India, which is home to 73% of H-1B visa holders, according to 2023 numbers from the Pew Research Center.—
Shanelle Kaul,
CBS News,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Foot soldiers.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/foot%20soldiers. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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