Noun: mercenary 'mur-su,ne-ree [N. Amer], mur-sun-(u-)ree [Brit]
- A person hired to fight for another country than their own
"The mercenary was recruited to join the foreign military campaign";
- soldier of fortune
- Serving for wages in a foreign army
"mercenary killers";
- freelance
- Marked by materialism
"His mercenary pursuit of wealth left little time for spiritual matters";
- materialistic, worldly-minded
- Profit oriented
"a mercenary enterprise";
- mercantile, moneymaking, commercial
Derived forms: mercenaries
See also: commercial, paid, secular, temporal, worldly
Type of: adventurer, venturer
Encyclopedia: Mercenary