What does infantryman mean?
An infantryman is a soldier who serves in an army's infantry, the branch traditionally composed of troops trained to fight on foot. The word distinguishes an individual soldier from the wider body of infantry and is common in military reporting, historical writing, literature, and discussion of armed forces. An infantryman may be an ordinary soldier, though the term can also be used when a writer wants to emphasize the infantry soldier's role, training, or experience rather than rank or job. In everyday use, the word carries a practical and historically grounded connotation: it evokes soldiers who fight close to the ground, often while carrying their own equipment. It is not limited to combat soldiers, since it can also refer to personnel serving in an infantry unit. In British and American English, infantryman and its plural infantrymen are standard, with the word normally used as a countable noun.
nounA soldier who serves in the infantry, especially one of the foot soldiers trained to fight on foot.
- A soldier belonging to the infantry, especially a soldier trained to fight on foot.
"The infantryman led his squad safely across the muddy field."
"The young infantryman volunteered to carry the wounded soldier back to the camp."
"In the novel, the infantryman describes the long march and the harsh weather before the battle."
"A military historian interviewed a former infantryman about life during the campaign."
The plural changes -man to -men.
"The infantrymen marched toward the village at dawn."
Infantry names the branch, but the suffix in infantryman identifies the individual: one soldier of the foot.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does infantryman come from?
Infantryman was formed in English from infantry and the suffix -man, meaning a member of a specified group. Infantry entered English through French infanterie from Italian infanteria, ultimately associated with Medieval Latin infanteria and Latin infans, meaning infant or child. The development of the modern sense reflects the historical classification of fighting troops according to whether they traveled and fought on foot or on horseback.
Related word forms
How infantryman is actually used
The term is standard in both British and American English. It is neutral in register, though in modern usage it most often denotes a member of a conventional infantry force rather than a specialized historical role such as a musketeer or fusilier.
Easily confused with infantryman
Infantry is the branch of an army composed of soldiers who fight on foot, whereas an infantryman is an individual member of that branch.