veteran

noun

vet·​er·​an ˈve-tə-rən How to pronounce veteran (audio)
ˈve-trən
Synonyms of veterannext
1
a
: a former member of the armed forces
b
: an old soldier of long service
2
: a person of long experience usually in some occupation or skill (such as politics or the arts)
veteran adjective

Synonyms of veteran

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of veteran in a Sentence

a veteran of the political scene He's a 10-year veteran with the team.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Perhaps Vitello has finally decided to be assertive with one of his veterans. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026 The seven RBIs also represented a career high for the 10-year veteran. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 The 27-year-old Marine Corps veteran served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. — Jennifer Mayerle, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 Colby opened camp on the first string but has been usurped the past week by veteran Rob Jones, whose violent streak showed up well in Tuesday’s action against the Titans. — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for veteran

Word History

Etymology

Latin veteranus, from veteranus, adjective, old, of long experience, from veter-, vetus old — more at wether

First Known Use

1509, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler
The first known use of veteran was in 1509

Browse Nearby Words

vetchworm
veteran
veteranize
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Veteran.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veteran. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

veteran

noun
vet·​er·​an ˈvet-ə-rən How to pronounce veteran (audio)
ˈve-trən
1
: a person who has had long experience (as in politics or the arts)
2
: a former member of the armed forces especially during wartime
veteran adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on veteran

Nglish: Translation of veteran for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All