The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word ADVENTURER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
D
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More clues leading to the result ADVENTURER
- Daredevil coming up, briefly, to perform again
- Opportunist coming upon two rivers
- With victory secured, Hector returned a hero
- Mercenary‘s arrival more certain, lacking capital
- A Renaissance artist capturing utter mercenary
- Drake perhaps coming to the queen after game is over
- An opportunist, a doctor accepting dare
- A medic admits speculation of mercenary
- Err at sea in the wake of vaunted roving explorer
- Opening seized by a German painter, mercenary
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Mercenary" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case mercenary = adventurer.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does ADVENTURER mean?
ADVENTURER noun- One who enjoys adventures.
- A person who seeks a fortune in new and possibly dangerous enterprises.
- A soldier of fortune, a speculator.
- A person who tries to advance their social position by somewhat devious means
- A player of adventure games or text adventures.