henchman
noun
hench·man
ˈhench-mən 
plural henchmen
1
a
: a trusted follower : a right-hand man
b
: a political follower whose support is chiefly for personal advantage
c
: a member of a gang
2
obsolete
: a squire or page to a person of high rank
Did you know?
The earliest known examples of henchman show it being used as a term for a squire or a page, but the word may have seen earlier use with the meaning "groom." It first appeared in Middle English and is a combination of Old English hengest ("a male horse") and man. One of the duties of a groom, squire, or page to a person of high rank was tending horses, and such a person was relied upon, which influenced the broader senses of henchman including "right-hand man."
Examples of henchman in a Sentence
a gangster surrounded by his henchmen
Recent Examples on the Web
Back in Montana, every trip Jacob and company take to Bozeman and back is inevitably fraught with peril — if not instigated by dastardly rich guy Donald Whitfield (Timothy Dalton) and/or his henchman Banner Creighton (Jerome Flynn), then by the pitiless nature of extreme weather.
—
Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025
In Lynch’s festering neo-noir mystery from 1987, Hopper plays a chronic villain perpetually sipping from a tank of amyl nitrate and handing out hits as a way to manipulate his henchmen.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
Bob's brother and lead henchman is Fritz Garbinger (Elijah Wood), who leads the Killer Nutz, a gang of lunatics.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
As the case against Sergio Pino and his alleged henchmen came together, investigators obtained records for Dulfo’s cellphone.
—Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for henchman
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Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2025
In Lynch’s festering neo-noir mystery from 1987, Hopper plays a chronic villain perpetually sipping from a tank of amyl nitrate and handing out hits as a way to manipulate his henchmen.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 14 Mar. 2025
Bob's brother and lead henchman is Fritz Garbinger (Elijah Wood), who leads the Killer Nutz, a gang of lunatics.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 13 Mar. 2025
As the case against Sergio Pino and his alleged henchmen came together, investigators obtained records for Dulfo’s cellphone.
—Catherine Odom, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for henchman
Articles Related to henchman
Cite this Entry
“Henchman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/henchman. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
henchman
noun
hench·man
ˈhench-mən
1
: a trusted follower
2
: a political follower whose support is chiefly for personal advantage
3
: a member of a gang
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