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
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
Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2025
But the attitude of the Romanian mercenaries — always scanning the road, murmuring into radios — gave it away: Congo’s defenses were crumbling.
—Emmet Livingstone, The Dial, 20 Mar. 2025
Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2025
The prominent credit-card swiper offers 15 minutes for the high price of $15, and the show follows up on the Gemstones’ mercenary shamelessness later when someone working the telethon phone bank asks for a donor’s routing number.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
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Noun
During the early moments of mayhem — in which Rutledge and his global team of mercenaries breach the hotel’s maximum security system and hack into its surveillance framework — Sutton and Manny manage to escape the conference room.
—Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 9 Apr. 2025
But the attitude of the Romanian mercenaries — always scanning the road, murmuring into radios — gave it away: Congo’s defenses were crumbling.
—Emmet Livingstone, The Dial, 20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
And how to be optimally developmental and transactional in an increasingly mercenary environment.
—Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2025
The prominent credit-card swiper offers 15 minutes for the high price of $15, and the show follows up on the Gemstones’ mercenary shamelessness later when someone working the telethon phone bank asks for a donor’s routing number.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 16 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mercenary
Cite this Entry
“Mercenary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercenary. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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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