brigadier
Americannoun
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British Military. a rank between colonel and major general.
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U.S. Army Informal. a brigadier general.
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History/Historical. a noncommissioned rank in the Napoleonic armies.
noun
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an officer of the British Army or Royal Marines who holds a rank junior to a major general but senior to a colonel, usually commanding a brigade
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an equivalent rank in other armed forces
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army short for brigadier general
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history a noncommissioned rank in the armies of Napoleon I
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of brigadier
1670–80; < French: officer commanding a brigade; see brigade, -ier 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Army brigadier general who held senior roles in the Defense and State Departments under previous administrations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 15, 2026
"The French nation posthumously promotes Alfred Dreyfus to the rank of brigadier general," the law reads.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
As a result, Finerty was demoted to brigadier general.
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2025
It was a cause of acute embarrassment for Berlin given that a brigadier general in the Luftwaffe appeared to allow spies into the secure call by dialling in on an insecure line.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2024
Scott offered Lee command of the new army being formed to fight the Confederates, which also meant Lee would be promoted to brigadier general.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
In an unprecedented undertaking by a democratic government, the trial of the juntas directly established the guilt of former presidents, admirals and brigadiers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2023
“It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to Josep, the last of our admired brigadiers still alive,” association chairman Almudena Cros said on its website on Tuesday.
From Reuters ● May 25, 2021
Nineteen colonels and brigadiers in their 50s and 60s graduated after several months of study with American and French instructors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 9, 2010
Old colonels were promoted to brigadier general, old brigadiers to major general, on the theory that a long life in arms deserved a good ending with maximum retirement pay.
From Time Magazine Archive
“And were here to save this building,” one of the fire brigadiers said.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
