captain
Americannoun
-
captains
plural
-
a person who is at the head of or in authority over others; chief; leader.
-
an officer ranking in most armies above a first lieutenant and below a major.
-
an officer in the U.S. Navy ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral or a commodore.
-
a military leader.
-
an officer in the police department, ranking above a lieutenant and usually below an inspector.
-
an officer of the fire department, usually in command of a company, ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief or assistant chief.
-
the commander of a merchant vessel.
-
the pilot of an airplane.
-
a local official in a political party responsible for organizing votes on a ward or precinct level.
-
Sports. the field leader of a team.
The captain of the home team elected to receive on the kickoff.
-
a person of great power and influence, especially based on economic wealth.
-
South Midland and Southern U.S. an unofficial title of respect for a man (sometimes used humorously or ironically).
verb (used with object)
-
captains,
present (3rd person singular)
-
captained,
past participle, past
-
captaining
present participle
noun
-
the person in charge of and responsible for a vessel
-
an officer of the navy who holds a rank junior to a rear admiral but senior to a commander
-
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
-
the officer in command of a civil aircraft, usually the senior pilot
-
the leader of a team in games
-
a person in command over a group, organization, etc; leader
a captain of industry
-
a police officer in charge of a precinct
-
(formerly) a head waiter
-
Also called: bell captain. a supervisor of bellboys in a hotel
-
informal a person who is buying drinks for people in a bar
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
captainsimple
-
captainssimple
-
have captainedperfect
-
has captainedperfect
-
am captainingprogressive
-
are captainingprogressive
-
is captainingprogressive
-
have been captainingperfect progressive
-
has been captainingperfect progressive
Past
-
captainedsimple
-
had captainedperfect
-
was captainingprogressive
-
were captainingprogressive
-
had been captainingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of captain
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
Explanation
A captain is the person in charge of a group. The captain of a high school soccer team is usually an elected or appointed leader. The word captain can describe any leader, but it's traditionally been the name for the person on a boat or ship with the highest rank. The captain of a fishing boat is responsible for making decisions about what route to take and how best to avoid bad weather. When she steers the boat, you can say she captains it. The word comes from the Late Latin capitaneus, "chief," from caput, or "head."
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:
Kevin Keegan's family were in attendance as Newcastle United and Liverpool supporters came together to pay tribute to the former England captain.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
I’m in Sumter, S.C., invited to fly in an F-16 with former Crespi quarterback Randy Redell, an Air Force graduate, captain and pilot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
His Durham team-mate Matthew Potts is in the images, while former England captain Ben Stokes appears in the background.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Root warned his squad to "be adults" when he abolished the midnight curfew - in his first act as captain - that came into place after previous incidents.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
“So you’ve brought us a lot of potatoes and flour,” Soviet General Anatoly Gribkov joked to the ship’s captain.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
Of all England's Test captains since 2006, only teams led by Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen have lower run-rates and played fewer attacking shots.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Arabic texts as far back as the 15th century codified the discipline of navigation, though ship captains sailed the reefs from memory, using poems rather than maps to recall notable landmarks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
At Slovakia's Gabcikovo dam, further upstream again, lock operations have slowed down, causing longer waiting times, and captains are being urged to check their vessels' navigability.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
Ship captains won’t want to risk going through the maritime blockade, and insurance becomes very expensive, he noted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Pete Redmarley and Gilbert Swinyard were the captains of the other.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Integral to the Dukes’ run-stopping was Hendrick, who not only captained the defense, but spearheaded the run support.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
He captained the side last season as Tottenham narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Regarded as one of the greatest defenders to play the game, Baresi captained Milan for 15 seasons, making 719 appearances and scoring 33 goals.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Noni Madueke was part of England's run to the final weekend but did not play beyond the quarter-finals, while Martin Odegaard captained Norway to the quarter-finals.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
It began on January 20, 1850, when the HMS Investigator, captained by Robert McClure, and the HMS Enterprise, captained by Richard Collinson, left England in search of John Franklin and his men.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
Norgaard previously spent six years at Brentford and became a key player for the Bees, captaining the side and making 196 appearances.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Manchester City midfielder Rodri played a starring role in captaining Spain to Sunday's World Cup final victory over Argentina.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Messi is Argentina's all-time record appearance-maker and goalscorer and his legend has only grown after captaining his country to World Cup glory in 2022.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
A 27-month absence from international cricket followed before his fine start to the county season, after taking on the responsibility of captaining Sussex, earned him a recall.
From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026
Todd steered the boat like he was captaining a great yacht.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
