veteran

noun

vet·​er·​an ˈve-tə-rən 

ˈve-trən

1

a

: a former member of the armed forces

b

: an old soldier of long service

2

: a person of long experience usually in some occupation or skill (such as politics or the arts)

veteran adjective

Synonyms of veteran

• vet
• expert
• professional
• master
• warhorse

Examples of veteran in a Sentence

a veteran of the political scene

He's a 10-year veteran with the team.

Recent Examples on the Web

Snook, a 10-year veteran of the department, was a graduate of the University of Maryland and member of the Terps' wrestling team. —Frederick Sutton Sinclair, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025

Soren Shade, a kratom advocate and cofounder of kratom tea company Top Tree Herbs, says that the herb was likely brought stateside in the 1970s by Vietnam War veterans who had developed heroin habits while serving overseas, and were using kratom as a harm reduction tool. —Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 28 Dec. 2025

Baltimore was hanging on to a 10-point lead and the veteran delivered the dagger on a 25-yard touchdown. —Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 28 Dec. 2025

The Vietnam veteran died unexpectedly in July 2006 at the age of 55. —Francesca Gariano, PEOPLE, 27 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin veteranus, from veteranus, adjective, old, of long experience, from veter-, vetus old — more at wether

First Known Use

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

veteran

noun

vet·​er·​an ˈvet-ə-rən 

ˈve-trən

1

: a person who has had long experience (as in politics or the arts)

2

: a former member of the armed forces especially during wartime

veteran adjective