mercenary

In a 2024 exposé on Bowlero’s rise, Amos Barshad introduced a now-familiar category of villain — the private-equity vulture — as more than the average mercenary buying up distressed properties and selling off their parts.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

“I’d love to do the hometown team, but I’m a mercenary whistler,” Ullman said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, which had been fighting with Malian forces against jihadists since 2021, ended its involvement in June 2025.

From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026

Over the years, it was sustained by proceeds from the sale of gold to the Gulf region and payments for guarding mines owned by Russia’s mercenary outfit, the Wagner Group, in western Sudan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

As Chronicler stared dumbly at the ruined weapon the mercenary took a step forward and laid his empty hand lightly on the scribe’s shoulder.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

There’s the coalition warfare, the mercenaries and the overseas adventurism.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Their seasoned troops, reinforced by Hessian mercenaries, faced an amateurish and poorly provisioned army of colonials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Still, May’s approach brought criticism that the Wolverines were simply “Rent-a-Team,” mercenaries from every corner of college basketball that had little to do with traditional methods or representing an institution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026

In recent years, a United Nations peacekeeping mission, Rwandan troops and Russian mercenaries from the notorious Wagner group have helped to improve the Central African Republic's security situation.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Greek mercenaries, of course, expected to be paid in coin, not sheaves of wheat.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro