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
B. F. Reilly 2
: hired for service in the army of a foreign country
Synonyms
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 WebChristy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Oct. 2024
The big picture: Hubbard is the first American that a Russian court has convicted of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine since the start of the war.
—Ivana Saric, Axios, 7 Oct. 2024
Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2024
The mercenary group has been under new management since the death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash last year, but Wagner is still colloquially referred to by its old name in the Sahel.
—Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mercenary 
Noun
The shipping captain was brought in to work with the mercenaries as a crew member-for-hire on their hunt for Blackbeard’s treasure.
—Christy Piña, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Oct. 2024
The big picture: Hubbard is the first American that a Russian court has convicted of fighting as a mercenary in Ukraine since the start of the war.
—Ivana Saric, Axios, 7 Oct. 2024
Adjective
German citizens released Rico Krieger, 30 or 31 The German citizen was sentenced to death in Belarus in June after being charged with terrorism and mercenary activities.
—Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 1 Aug. 2024
The mercenary group has been under new management since the death of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash last year, but Wagner is still colloquially referred to by its old name in the Sahel.
—Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, 4 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for mercenary
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mercenary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mercenary
Cite this Entry
“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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 adjective1
: serving only for the pay or reward
mercenary armies
mercenary soldier
2
: greedy for money
mercenary business owners
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