soldier

SOHL-jur/ˈsoʊld͡ʒɚ/SOHL-juh/ˈsəʊld͡ʒə/

Pluralsoldiers

Verbsoldiers, soldiering, soldiered

14 meanings of soldier

Practice

1
military membernouncountable
A person who serves in an army or, more loosely, in any of the armed forces, especially one below the rank of officer.
A soldier must follow the orders of a superior officer.
The general praised the soldiers for their endurance during the long march.
Oppositecivilian
Note
Shakespeare's "I am a soldier and unapt to weep" shows the word already standing for a whole temperament.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The quoted words occur in Shakespeare's Henry VI, Part 1; Reignier speaks them. gutenberg.org
2
keep goingverbintransitive
To keep pushing forward with determination, despite hardship or discouragement.
Despite his exhaustion, he chose to soldier on toward the summit.
The small business soldiered on through years of heavy losses.
UsageUsually in soldier on, often with through: soldiered on through years of losses.
Similarpersevere, persist, press, struggle
Oppositequit
3
hard workernouncountable
A brave, tough person who works hard and keeps going through difficulty; also said approvingly to a young boy.
My grandmother was a soldier, raising six children on almost nothing.
Grandma never complained once during her months of treatment, and the nurses all called her a real soldier.
UsageOften a real soldier or a little soldier, said as praise.
Similartrooper, trouper, fighter, warrior, survivor

Less common meanings

4
gang membernouncountable
A low-ranking member of a gang, especially the mafia, who carries out violence and physical conflict.
Every soldier in the family answered directly to the underboss.
The mob boss kept his own hands clean while his soldiers collected debts and roughed up anyone who refused to pay.
Similarhenchman, enforcer
5
serve (army)verbintransitive
To serve in an army; to perform military service as a fighting member.
After twenty years of soldiering in distant colonies, he found quiet farm life hard to bear.
Many volunteers chose to soldier overseas during the war.
Similarserve, fight
6
termite guardnouncountable
A member of the defending caste in a termite colony or in some ant species, usually with an enlarged head and powerful jaws.
When ants attack, a soldier plugs the tunnel with its armored head.
The colony's soldiers cannot feed themselves and rely on the workers.
7
toast stripnounAustraliaBritishIrelandNew Zealandcountable
A long thin strip of buttered bread or toast, made for dipping into a soft-boiled egg.
He cut the toast into soldiers for his daughter's breakfast.
A warm soldier is perfect for scooping up soft yolk.
UsageCommon phrases include eggs and soldiers, toast soldiers, and cut toast into soldiers.
8
Salvation Armynouncountable
A member of the Salvation Army, the Christian church that gives its people military ranks and titles.
As a soldier in the Salvation Army, he gave up his evenings to run the food bank.
All through December, Salvation Army soldiers rang bells beside the red kettles outside the grocery store.
UsageUsually a Salvation Army soldier or a soldier in the Salvation Army.
9
verb
To deliberately work at the slowest pace that avoids punishment, in order to limit how much actually gets done.
10
noun
A xiangqi piece that moves and captures by advancing one point; after crossing the river, it may also move and capture one point sideways.
11
noun
A brick laid vertically on its smallest end, so that its tallest and slimmest face shows on the outside of the wall.
12
noun
A red or cuckoo gurnard (Chelidonichthys cuculus), a small reddish sea fish with a large, armored head.
13
noundated
A red herring: a kipper cured and smoked until its flesh turns red and its flavor grows strong.
14
verbslang
To ride another person's horse without first getting their permission.
It was the first time I had ever “soldiered” a horse. Soldiering means using a horse without the owner's leave or knowledge. Two of our lost horses we never found. Probably some one was soldiering them!
1917, Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh, After many days: being the reminiscences of Cuthbert Fetherstonhaugh

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of soldier apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

Late Latin solidus, the name of a coin, gave Medieval Latin soldarius ("soldier, one having pay"). This passed into Old French as soudier or soudeour ("mercenary") and then into Middle English as soudeour. The word replaced Old English cempa.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Late Latin solidus was the name of a coin. en.wikipedia.org
Medieval Latin soldarius derived from solidus and meant a soldier, literally one having pay. en.wiktionary.org
The word passed through Old French soudier or soudeour, meaning mercenary. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English borrowed soudeour from Old French. en.wiktionary.org
Soldier displaced Old English cempa. en.wiktionary.org