lance corporal

noun

1. U.S. Marine Corps. an enlisted person ranking between private first class and corporal.
2. British Military.
   1. a corporal of the lowest rank.
   2. (formerly) a private acting as corporal without increased pay.

lance corporal

noun

1. a noncommissioned officer of the lowest rank in the British Army

Word History and Origins

Origin of lance corporal¹

1780–90; lance, shortened form of earlier lancepesade < Middle French lancepessade lowest ranking grade of noncommissioned officer < Italian lancia spezzata superior soldier, literally, broken lance ¹ (from having shivered many lances, i.e., fought well in many battles)

Example Sentences

The marksman, a lance corporal in the Coldstream Guards, was 930 yards from his target when he squeezed the trigger.

From The Daily Beast

The British military said it believes a lance corporal surpassed all previous records with one pull of the trigger.

From The Daily Beast

The lance corporal watched 2nd and 3rd Squads pile into the building.

From The Daily Beast

Marine Lance Corporal Kody Brittingham plotted from his barracks at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina.

From The Daily Beast

A lance-corporal who had been wounded three times and had been told to lie down insisted on advancing with his fellows.

From Project Gutenberg

Lance-Corporal Jacka, while holding a portion of our trench with four other men, was heavily attacked.

From Project Gutenberg

Lance-Corporal Grimson crawled over the broken ground towards the enemy, capturing successively three Turks.

From Project Gutenberg

Here a lance-corporal was responsible for capturing two machine-guns and twenty-eight prisoners.

From Project Gutenberg

He came up to Lance-Corporal Newman, who was bombing with his sector to the right of the position.

From Project Gutenberg