1
: a servile dependent, follower, or underling
He's one of the boss's minions.
2
: one highly favored : idol
his great charity to the poor renders him the minion of the people—
Jonas Hanway
Jonas Hanway3
: a subordinate (see subordinate entry 1 sense 1) or petty official
government minions
Did you know?
The Origins of Minion
Minion comes from Middle French and is related to filet mignon. The two terms are connected by mignon, meaning "darling." The earliest uses of minion refer to someone who is a particular favorite of a sovereign or other important personage. Over time, however, the word developed a more derogatory sense referring to a person who is servile and unimportant.
Examples of minion in a Sentence
one of the boss's minions
most of the top appointments went to the new governor's personal minions and political cronies
Recent Examples on the Web
Musk and his hacker minions have blown into departments, demanding access to highly sensitive data in pursuit of finding waste, fraud, and abuse—often making cuts and promoting the reductions before fully understanding what was going on.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 2 Apr. 2025
Decisions made today by Trump and his minions will affect our children and our children’s children for years to come.
—Chicago Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025
Elon Musk your doge minions just fired me and my colleagues at CMMI.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
The dancer parts include minions, palace guards, enchanted birds and a hunting party.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for minion
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.
Philip Elliott, Time, 2 Apr. 2025
Decisions made today by Trump and his minions will affect our children and our children’s children for years to come.
—Chicago Tribune, 19 Mar. 2025
Elon Musk your doge minions just fired me and my colleagues at CMMI.
—Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 16 Feb. 2025
The dancer parts include minions, palace guards, enchanted birds and a hunting party.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for minion
Cite this Entry
“Minion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minion. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
minion
noun
min·ion
ˈmin-yən 
1
: a person who obediently serves or works for a usually powerful person or organization
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share