WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026sol•dier•ing
(sōl′jər ing),USA pronunciation n.
- Militarythe activity or career of a person who soldiers.
- soldier + -ing1 1690–1700
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026sol•dier /ˈsoʊldʒɚ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
- Militaryone who works or has worked in military service.
- Militaryan enlisted person, as distinguished from a commissioned officer.
- a low-ranking member of a crime organization.
- Insectsa member of certain insect groups whose job is to defend the colony from invaders.
v. [no object]
- soldier on, to continue forward in spite of difficulty or hardship;
persist:He soldiered on and finally got his bachelor's degree.
sol•dier•ly, adj.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026sol•dier
(sōl′jər),USA pronunciation n.
- Militarya person who serves in an army;
a person engaged in military service.
- Militaryan enlisted man or woman, as distinguished from a commissioned officer:the soldiers' mess and the officers' mess.
- Militarya person of military skill or experience:George Washington was a great soldier.
- a person who contends or serves in any cause:a soldier of the Lord.
- Sociology, Slang TermsAlso called button man. [Slang.]a low-ranking member of a crime organization or syndicate.
- Insects[Entomol.]a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped female ants or termites specialized, as with powerful jaws, to defend the colony from invaders.
- Buildinga brick laid vertically with the narrower long face out. Cf. rowlock (def. 2).
- Informal Termsa person who avoids work or pretends to work;
loafer;
malingerer.
v.i.
- to act or serve as a soldier.
- [Informal.]to loaf while pretending to work;
malinger:He was soldiering on the job.
- soldier on, to persist steadfastly in one's work;
persevere:to soldier on until the work is done.
- Latin solidus; see sol2) + -ier -ier2
- Old French soudier, so(l)dier, equivalent. to soulde pay (
- Middle English souldiour 1250–1300
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
soldier /ˈsəʊldʒə/ n - a person who serves or has served in an army
- Also called: common soldier a noncommissioned member of an army as opposed to a commissioned officer
- a person who works diligently for a cause
- an individual in a colony of social insects, esp ants, that has powerful jaws adapted for defending the colony, crushing large food particles, etc
vb (intransitive)- to serve as a soldier
Etymology: 13th Century: from Old French soudier, from soude (army) pay, from Late Latin solidus a gold coin, from Latin: firm
'soldiering' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):