Vietcong

noun

Viet·​cong vē-ˈet-ˈkäŋ How to pronounce Vietcong (audio)
vyet-,
ˌvē-ət- How to pronounce Vietcong (audio)
vēt-,
-ˈkȯŋ
plural Vietcong
: a guerrilla member of the Vietnamese Communist movement

Examples of Vietcong in a Sentence

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.
In Damianos’s office, the Captain suggests some lines for the Vietcong in a rare outburst of rage. Terry Nguyen, Vulture, 5 May 2024 As McNamara discovered while running the Pentagon, the North Vietnamese and the Vietcong were able to repulse far more powerful U.S. forces. Ngaire Woods, Foreign Affairs, 21 June 2022 Can Thu, a former Vietcong political officer who had helped plan the attack. Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 In Cambodia, the Nixon administration attempted to destroy the stronghold of Khmer Rouge communist rebels, which the Vietcong used for supply and training. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 In January of 1968, the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese, who were fighting against the U.S. and its allies, the South Vietnamese Army, mounted an offensive. David Remnick, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2023 The goal was to increase rainfall, which would muddy up the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a network of coarse roads, interrupting Vietcong supply lines. Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 19 Sep. 2023 The Ho Chi Minh Trail, which helped supply North Vietnamese and Vietcong forces during the Vietnam War, certainly deserves a volume of its own. Foreign Affairs, 10 Apr. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Vietnamese Việt-cộng

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Vietcong was in 1957

Dictionary Entries Near Vietcong

Cite this Entry

“Vietcong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Vietcong. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

Vietcong

noun
plural Vietcong
: a guerrilla soldier in the Vietnamese Communist movement from the late 1950s to 1975
Etymology

from the Vietnamese phrase Viêt Nam công-san "Vietnam communist"

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