captain

[kap-tuhn, -tin]

noun

1. a person who is at the head of or in authority over others; chief; leader.

2. an officer ranking in most armies above a first lieutenant and below a major.

3. an officer in the U.S. Navy ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral or a commodore.

4. a military leader.

5. an officer in the police department, ranking above a lieutenant and usually below an inspector.

6. an officer of the fire department, usually in command of a company, ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief or assistant chief.

7. the commander of a merchant vessel.

8. the pilot of an airplane.

9. a local official in a political party responsible for organizing votes on a ward or precinct level.

10. Sports.,  the field leader of a team.

    The captain of the home team elected to receive on the kickoff.

11. a person of great power and influence, especially based on economic wealth.

12. headwaiter.

13. bell captain.

14. South Midland and Southern U.S.,  an unofficial title of respect for a man (sometimes used humorously or ironically).

verb (used with object)

1. to lead or command as a captain.

captain

/ ˈkæptɪn /

noun

1. the person in charge of and responsible for a vessel

2. an officer of the navy who holds a rank junior to a rear admiral but senior to a commander

3. an officer of the army, certain air forces, and the marine corps who holds a rank junior to a major but senior to a lieutenant

4. the officer in command of a civil aircraft, usually the senior pilot

5. the leader of a team in games

6. a person in command over a group, organization, etc; leader

   a captain of industry

7. a police officer in charge of a precinct

8. (formerly) a head waiter

9. Also called: bell captain. a supervisor of bellboys in a hotel

10. informal,  a person who is buying drinks for people in a bar

verb

1. (tr) to be captain of

Other Word Forms

• captaincy noun
• subcaptain noun
• uncaptained adjective
• undercaptain noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of captain¹

1325–75; Middle English capitain < Anglo-French capitain, captayn < Late Latin capitāneus chief, equivalent to capit- (stem of caput ) head + -ān ( us ) -an + -eus -eous

Word History and Origins

Origin of captain¹

C14: from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus chief, from Latin caput head

Example Sentences

They realised Carpenter had the better of City captain Alex Greenwood with her pace and was causing the visiting defence problems.

From BBC

Former Scotland captain Scott Brown: "That's what Steve Clarke will have wanted. The players had to dig deep - everyone gave a solid performance. Denmark had a lot of possession but hardly any clear-cut chances."

From BBC

It also recently announced that it would be furloughing 270 pilots and downgrading around 140 captains to first officers.

From Los Angeles Times

Apart from the absence of injured captain Zoe Aldcroft, who hopes to return for the knockout stages, England are near full strength.

From BBC

I cannot understand why they picked him as captain for the T20 tour of Ireland.

From BBC

Related Words

• boss 
• commander 
• director 
• executive 
• leader 
• officer 
• operator 
• owner 
• pilot 
• skipper