lieutenant

CEFRB2

/lɛfˈtɛn.ənt/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    An officer whose rank is below captain in the armed forces.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    The lowest junior commissioned officer rank(s) in many military forces, often Army and Marines.

Examples

  • He was demoted to the rank of lieutenant.

  • Lieutenant Worf is a Klingon who serves as an officer aboard the Federation starship Enterprise.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈlef.ʈe.nenʈ/
  • /ˈlef.ʈɪ.nenʈ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant" or as the complete forms of the ranks.

  2. A naval officer whose rank is above that of ensign in the United States Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.

  3. A commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration whose rank is above that of ensign and below lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.

More examples

In context

  • Mr. Scott immediately asked someone at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash., to get Mr. Nadella, the chief executive, out of a meeting he was having with top lieutenants.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank officer followed the captain's orders to lead the platoon during the mission.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English lieutenant, lieftenaunt, from Anglo-Norman lieutenant, lyutenaunt, leu tenant, leu tenaunt (“deputy, lieutenant”), from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holder”). Doublet of locum tenens and stadtholder.