mercenary

1 of 2

noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē 

-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

ˌmər-sə-ˈner-ə-lē 

-ˈne-rə-

adverb

mercenariness

ˈmər-sə-ˌner-ē-nəs 

-ˌne-rē-

noun

Synonyms

Adjective

• acquisitive
• avaricious
• avid
• coveting
• covetous
• grabby
• grasping
• greedy
• moneygrubbing
• rapacious

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

Noun

Hemsworth stars as an Australian black ops mercenary who takes on a mission to save an Indian drug lord’s kidnapped son in Dhaka, Bangladesh, but the mission goes awry when he is double-crossed. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025

The original Extraction movie featured Hemsworth as a mercenary attempting to rescue a kidnapped teenager in Sam Hargraves’ action thriller scripted by Marvel veteran Joe Russo. —Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Feb. 2025

Adjective

The Serpent Society, a brutal mercenary group led by Giancarlo Esposito's Sidewinder, already weaponized the metal. —Nick Romano, EW.com, 13 Feb. 2025

Along the way, Captain America battles villains like Giancarlo Esposito's mercenary killer Sidewinder and Samuel Sterns, a role Tim Blake Nelson reprises for the first time since 2008's The Incredible Hulk. —Tommy McArdle, People.com, 12 Feb. 2025

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

Rhymes for mercenary

• accessary
• adversary
• ancillary
• arbitrary
• aviary
• axillary
• beriberi
• breviary
• budgetary
• capillary
• catenary
• cautionary

Kids Definition

mercenary

1 of 2 noun

mer·​ce·​nary ˈmərs-ᵊn-ˌer-ē 

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