lieutenant

American  

[loo-ten-uhnt, lef-ten-uhnt] / luˈtɛn ənt, lɛfˈtɛn ənt /

noun

• lieutenants
  plural

1. Military.

   1. first lieutenant.

   2. second lieutenant.

2. U.S. Navy. a commissioned officer ranking between lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant commander.

3. a person who holds an office, civil or military, in subordination to a superior they act for.

   If he can't attend, he will send his lieutenant.

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lieutenant British  

/ luːˈtɛnənt, lɛfˈtɛnənt /

noun

1. a military officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a captain

2. a naval officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a lieutenant commander

3. an officer in a police or fire department ranking immediately junior to a captain

4. a person who holds an office in subordination to or in place of a superior

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lieutenancy
  noun
• underlieutenant
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lieutenants
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of lieutenant

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English from Middle French, noun use of adjective phrase lieu tenant “place-holding”; see locum tenens, lieu, tenant

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Explanation

A lieutenant is a commissioned officer in the armed forces or the police who can take command if her higher-ups aren't around. Lieutenant is pronounced "loo-TEN-unt." If you're confused about all those vowels, blame the French, because the word comes from the French words lieu, meaning "place," and tenant meaning "holding." A lieutenant is someone who holds the place of authority for the person who really has it. If you start a super secret club, you should choose someone to be the lieutenant who can run meetings when you're not there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lieutenant lieutenants

Enrollment and commissioning numbers matter, but they don’t tell whether a new lieutenant is well prepared to lead in combat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

He began his work at the modest rank of first lieutenant, though he would be made a captain in 1941.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

California’s low-profile lieutenant governor race pits Democratic Treasurer Fiona Ma against former Democratic Senate leader Gloria Romero, who’s running as a Republican.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Newman said that slotting the lieutenant governor into the role of governor in the event of a recall would follow a precedent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

She didn’t hesitate to have me talk with the lieutenant.

From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor

Mohammed, also known as "KSM," was considered one of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's top lieutenants before he was captured in March 2003 in Pakistan.

From Barron's ● Aug. 28, 2026

He was reluctant to report the wrongdoing, he said, because one of the lieutenants had boasted that he knew a lot of people in Internal Affairs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

While Matty Cash, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia started against Sociedad, many of Emery's trusted lieutenants were missing.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

He often delegates difficult conversations to trusted lieutenants.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

Neither of us had ever heard of the others’ squad or base or the lieutenants who were in charge of the squads.

From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah

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