soldier
n. countablen. a person who serves in an army. They are trained to fight and protect their country.
n. a person who serves in an army, typically one who is not a commissioned officer. Often used generically to refer to any member of a land-based military force.
The soldier returned home after a long year away.
Every soldier in the unit received specialized training in first aid and radio communication before the mission began.
While the general planned the grand strategy from a distance, the individual soldier on the ground faced the immediate, grueling reality of the terrain and the weather.
Inherited from Middle English soudeour, from Old French soudier or soudeour (“mercenary”), from Medieval Latin soldarius (“soldier (one having pay)”), from Late Latin solidus, a type of coin. Displaced Old English cempa (whence obsolete kemp). (red herring): An allusion to soldiers' red uniforms; red herring is, reciprocally, a slang term for "soldier".
Commonly takes the preposition 'in' when referring to the branch of service ('a soldier in the army').