soldier

/ˈsoʊldʒər/

/ˈsʌʊldʒə/

Other forms: soldiers; soldiering; soldiered

In a war, soldiers are the people who do the fighting, on the ground, in planes, or from boats. Soldier is also a verb that means to serve in the military, or to continue on through difficult times.

What is an army without soldiers? It’s a bunch of guns on the ground. A soldier is the man or woman who fights for their government and carries the weapons, risking their life in the process. The word comes from the Latin solidus, which is the name of the gold coin used to pay soldiers who fought in the Roman army. To “soldier on” means to not give up even when life is tough, like soldiering on through difficult vocabulary.

Definitions of soldier

1. noun

   an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
   “the soldiers stood at attention”

   examples:

   Ethan Allen

   a soldier of the American Revolution whose troops helped capture Fort Ticonderoga from the British (1738-1789)

   Chevalier de Bayard

   French soldier said to be fearless and chivalrous (1473-1524)

   Cesare Borgia

   Italian cardinal and military leader; model for Machiavelli's prince (1475-1507)

   Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac

   a French soldier and dramatist remembered chiefly for fighting many duels (often over the size of his nose); was immortalized in 1897 in a play by Edmond Rostand (1619-1655)

   Thomas Wentworth Storrow Higginson

   United States writer and soldier who led the first Black regiment in the Union Army (1823-1911)

   Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko

   Polish patriot and soldier who fought with Americans in the American Revolution (1746-1817)

   Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier

   French soldier who served under George Washington in the American Revolution (1757-1834)

   Thomas Edward Lawrence

   Welsh soldier who from 1916 to 1918 organized the Arab revolt against the Turks; he later wrote an account of his adventures (1888-1935)

   Lighthorse Harry Lee

   soldier of the American Revolution (1756-1818)

   Mohammed Ali

   Albanian soldier in the service of Turkey who was made viceroy of Egypt and took control away from the Ottoman Empire and established Egypt as a modern state (1769-1849)

   Daniel Morgan

   soldier in the American Revolution who defeated the British in the battle of Cowpens, South Carolina (1736-1802)

   Sir Henry Percy

   English soldier killed in a rebellion against Henry IV (1364-1403)

   Juan Domingo Peron

   Argentine soldier who became president of Argentina (1895-1974)

   Jan Christian Smuts

   South African statesman and soldier (1870-1950)

   Tancred

   Norman leader in the First Crusade who played an important role in the capture of Jerusalem (1078-1112)

   types:

   Gurkha

   a member of the Nepalese force that has been part of the British army for 200 years; known for fierceness in combat

   Anzac

   a soldier in the Australian and New Zealand army corps during World War I

   cannon fodder, fodder, fresh fish

   soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire

   cavalryman, trooper

   a soldier mounted on horseback

   cavalryman, trooper

   a soldier in a motorized army unit

   color bearer, standard-bearer

   the soldier who carries the standard of the unit in military parades or in battle

   Confederate soldier

   a soldier in the Army of the Confederacy during the American Civil War

   lobsterback, redcoat

   British soldier; so-called because of his red coat (especially during the American Revolution)

   flanker

   a soldier who is a member of a detachment assigned to guard the flanks of a military formation

   goldbrick

   a soldier who performs his duties without proper care or effort

   Green Beret

   a soldier who is a member of the United States Army Special Forces

   guardsman

   a soldier who is a member of a unit called `the guard' or `guards'

   Highlander

   a soldier in a Scottish regiment from the Highlands

   foot soldier, footslogger, infantryman, marcher

   fights on foot with small arms

   Janissary, janissary

   a Turkish soldier

   jawan

   (India) a private soldier or male constable

   legionary, legionnaire

   a soldier who is a member of a legion (especially the French Foreign Legion)

   man-at-arms

   a heavily armed and mounted soldier in medieval times

   marine

   a soldier who serves both on shipboard and on land

   militiaman

   a member of the militia; serves only during emergencies

   orderly

   a soldier who serves as an attendant to a superior officer

   para, paratrooper

   a soldier in the paratroops

   peacekeeper

   a member of a military force that is assigned (often with international sanction) to preserve peace in a trouble area

   pistoleer

   someone armed with a pistol (especially a soldier so armed)

   poilu

   a French soldier (especially in World War I)

   point man

   a soldier who goes ahead of a patrol

   ranker

   an enlisted soldier who serves in the ranks of the armed forces

   regular

   a soldier in the regular army

   reservist

   a member of a military reserve

   rifleman

   a soldier whose weapon is a rifle

   Section Eight

   a soldier who received a Section Eight discharge as unfit for military service

   tank driver, tanker

   a soldier who drives a tank

   territorial

   nonprofessional soldier member of a territorial military unit

   Unknown Soldier

   an unidentified soldier whose body is honored as a memorial

   Wac

   a member of the Women's Army Corps

   Uriah

   (Old Testament) the husband of Bathsheba and a soldier who was sent to die in battle so that king David could marry his wife (circa 10th century BC)

   sepoy

   a native Indian soldier serving under the army of Britain or another European power

   auxiliary

   a soldier, especially a foreign soldier, who is not part of a nation’s regular army

   bushwhacker

   a Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War

   carabineer, carabinier, carbineer

   a soldier (historically a mounted soldier) who is armed with a carbine

   cuirassier

   a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass

   dragoon

   a member of a European military unit formerly composed of heavily armed cavalrymen

   fusilier

   (formerly) a British infantryman armed with a light flintlock musket

   grenade thrower, grenadier

   an infantryman equipped with grenades

   hussar

   a member of a European light cavalry unit; renowned for elegant dress

   doughboy

   an American infantryman in World War I

   lancer

   (formerly) a cavalryman armed with a lance

   Minuteman

   an American militiaman prior to and during the American Revolution

   musketeer

   a foot soldier armed with a musket

   Rough Rider

   a member of the volunteer cavalry regiment led by Theodore Roosevelt in the Spanish-American War (1898)

   Johnny, Johnny Reb, Reb, Rebel, greyback

   `Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; `greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms

   trainbandsman

   a member of a trainband

   Wave

   a member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy; originally organized during World War II but now no longer a separate branch

   weekend warrior

   a reservist who fulfills the military obligation on weekends

   type of:

   enlisted person

   a serviceman who ranks below a commissioned officer
2. verb

   serve as a soldier in the military
   type of:

   pass, spend

   pass time in a specific way
3. noun

   a wingless sterile ant or termite having a large head and powerful jaws adapted for defending the colony
   type of:

   worker

   sterile member of a colony of social insects that forages for food and cares for the larvae