Officer Meaning
/ˈɒf.ɪ.sə/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounOne who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization, especially in military, police or government organizations.
nounA respectful term of address for an officer, especially a police officer.
Sentence Examples
The guild leader relegated Vince to a lesser officer because he was abusing his power.
The police officer on duty sensed an elderly man coming up behind him.
He has been charged with assaulting a police officer.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The police ____ finally arrested the thief after a short chase on the street.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The police ____ asked the driver to step out of the vehicle for a routine check.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English officer, from Anglo-Norman officer, officier, from Old French officer, Late Latin officiarius (“official”), from Latin officium (“office”) + -ārius (“-er”). By surface analysis, office + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Huerta was arrested while law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business suspected of hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a federal court filing. […] A law enforcement officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then put his hands on Huerta to move him out of the way of a vehicle, the agent wrote."
— 2025 June 9, Mónica De Anda, “SEIU President David Huerta released from custody on $50k bond following arrest during ICE raid”, in KABC-TV:
"Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XIX, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"Early in the Talmudic period the service was divided between two officers. One was invited to recite the Shema including the benedictions connected with it... After he was through, another man was invited to stand up before the pulpit facing the direction of Jerusalem to recite the prayer proper, i.e., the Amida."
— 1929, Abraham Zevi Idelsohn, Jewish Music: Its Historical Development, page 108:
"Many of our journals are officered by Irish gentlemen, and their gallant brigade does the penning among us, as their ancestors used to transact the fighting in Europe; and engage under many a flag, to be good friends when the battle is over."
— 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 31, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
"The regular battalions of the regiment, though officered mainly by Anglo-Welshmen of county families, did not normally contain more than about one Welshman in fifty in the ranks."
— 1929, Robert Graves, chapter 10, in Good-Bye to All That, London: Jonathan Cape, page 115:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The police ____ finally arrested the thief after a short chase on the street.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The police ____ asked the driver to step out of the vehicle for a routine check.