From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishveteranvet‧e‧ran /ˈvetərən/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 PMsomeone who has been a soldier, sailor etc in a warveteran of a veteran of the Second World War a Vietnam veteran2 EXPERIENCEsomeone who has had a lot of experience of a particular activityveteran of a veteran of countless political campaignsveteran politician/campaigner/leader etc the veteran leader of the socialist partyveteran journalist/actor/goalkeeper etc
Examples from the Corpus
veteran• Veteran diplomat Richard Murphy is heading the commission.• Millett is a veteran campaigner for women's rights.• Among the protesters will be Laura Magnani, another veteran in the campaign against capital punishment.• a 12-year classroom veteran• Chiles, a three-term veteran of the U.S. Senate, won the governorship of Florida.• The case of these two veterans may be just the beginning.• Gulf War veteransveteran of• a veteran of the 1960s civil rights battlesveteran journalist/actor/goalkeeper etc• That's the shock verdict from his former Ibrox team-mate, veteran goalkeeper Dave McKellar.Origin veteran (1500-1600) Latin veteranus, from veteranus “old, of long experience”, from vetus “old” 