aide-de-camp

American  

[eyd-duh-kamp] / ˈeɪd dəˈkæmp /

Or aid-de-camp

noun

• aides-de-camp
  plural

1. a subordinate military or naval officer acting as a confidential assistant to a superior, usually to a general officer or admiral.

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aide-de-camp British  

/ ˈeɪd də ˈkɒŋ /

noun

1.  ADC.  a military officer serving as personal assistant to a senior

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• aides-de-camp
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aide-de-camp

1660–70; < French: literally, camp helper; see aid, de, camp ¹

Explanation

An aide-de-camp is a military officer who assists another officer with more seniority. An aide-de-camp is a military assistant. Many English words come from the military, and many others come from French. This word comes from both, as it's a French term for a military assistant. Just like assistants in other fields, the aide-de-camp will provide the senior officer with whatever is needed. This term also gets a fair amount of work as a general term for an assistant to a powerful person in any organization. Any supervisor or leader may have an aide-de-camp who helps them out.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aide-de-camp aides-de-camp

Ella Stiller is their ingenuous aide-de-camp, Busy Philipps a flamboyant investor and Renée Elise Goldsberry as an opposing counsel who has history with Colter.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

The unnamed narrator of “The Sympathizer” is a veteran of two armies: the North Vietnamese whom he served as spy and the South Vietnamese whose uniform he wore as aide-de-camp to a high-ranking general.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2025

They were called to testify at Police headquarters in Brasilia, along with Bolsonaro's former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, his father, a retired army general, and another military officer that was a presidential aide.

From Reuters ● Aug. 31, 2023

He was aide-de-camp to the ousted leader's father, Omar Bongo, who ruled for almost 42 years until his death in 2009.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2023

It was a foregone conclusion that Washington would be called out of retirement to head the force, but equally predictable that the aging general would delegate actual command to his former aide-de-camp.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

Several of his most valuable aides-de-camp, including writing partner Billy Strayhorn and star saxophonist Johnny Hodges, had struck out on their own, and for the only time, the Maestro’s own inspiration seemed to flag.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

He also wisely chose as his aides-de-camp a pair of young go-getters, Mike Tamburro and Lou Schwechheimer, both eager to sell pregame tickets and pick up postgame trash to make the venture work.

From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2015

Day the Assembly opened, he drove first to St. Giles's Cathedral and then to Assembly Hall, with his wife, purse-bearer, aides-de-camp, ladies-in-waiting and cavalry escort.

From Time Magazine Archive

For half an hour, while friends stood on chairs to watch the ceremony, they presented cards to aides-de-camp, who announced them in precise British accents.

From Time Magazine Archive

The light west winds and watery south are his fresh young deacons, his ecclesiastical aides-de-camp.

From From the Easy Chair, series 3 by George William Curtis