mercenary

1 of 2

noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē How to pronounce mercenary (audio)
-ne-rē
plural mercenaries
: one that serves merely for wages
especially : a soldier hired into foreign service
mercenaries who guaranteed the success of the rebellion B. F. Reilly

mercenary

2 of 2

adjective

1
: serving merely for pay or sordid advantage : venal
also : greedy
2
: hired for service in the army of a foreign country
mercenarily adverb
mercenariness noun

Examples of mercenary in a Sentence

Noun an army of foreign mercenaries Adjective His motives in choosing a career were purely mercenary. they were a mercenary couple, who defined themselves not by what they were but by what they owned
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
The film — billed as a mashup of Bridesmaids and Die Hard — stars Wilson as a secret agent who is serving as the maid of honor at her childhood best friend’s (played by Camp) wedding, and must save the day when armed mercenaries crash the ceremony. Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2025 In the 1600s, a Swiss medical student named Johannes Hofer studied mercenaries in the Italian and French lowlands who longed desperately for their mountain homelands. Chelsea Reid, The Conversation, 17 June 2025
Adjective
The two had admittedly a little too much fun making their new action comedy, which follows the lavish wedding of Betsy (Camp) and Ryan (Sam Huntington), which is crashed by a mercenary group that takes everyone hostage. EW.com, 19 June 2025 Any spy or mercenary line of work comes at a massive cost. Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 19 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for mercenary

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Adjective

Middle English, from Latin mercenarius, irregular from merced-, merces wages — more at mercy

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mercenary was in the 14th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

mercenary

1 of 2 noun
mer·​ce·​nary ˈmərs-ᵊn-ˌer-ē How to pronounce mercenary (audio)
plural mercenaries
: one that serves only for wages
especially : a soldier hired by a foreign country to fight in its army

mercenary

2 of 2 adjective
1
: serving only for the pay or reward
mercenary armies
mercenary soldier
2
: greedy for money
mercenary business owners

More from Merriam-Webster on mercenary

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