captain
Americannoun
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captains
plural
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a person who is at the head of or in authority over others; chief; leader.
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an officer ranking in most armies above a first lieutenant and below a major.
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an officer in the U.S. Navy ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral or a commodore.
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a military leader.
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an officer in the police department, ranking above a lieutenant and usually below an inspector.
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an officer of the fire department, usually in command of a company, ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief or assistant chief.
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the commander of a merchant vessel.
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the pilot of an airplane.
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a local official in a political party responsible for organizing votes on a ward or precinct level.
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Sports. the field leader of a team.
The captain of the home team elected to receive on the kickoff.
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a person of great power and influence, especially based on economic wealth.
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South Midland and Southern U.S. an unofficial title of respect for a man (sometimes used humorously or ironically).
verb (used with object)
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captains,
present (3rd person singular)
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captained,
past participle, past
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captaining
present participle
noun
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the person in charge of and responsible for a vessel
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an officer of the navy who holds a rank junior to a rear admiral but senior to a commander
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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
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the officer in command of a civil aircraft, usually the senior pilot
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the leader of a team in games
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a person in command over a group, organization, etc; leader
a captain of industry
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a police officer in charge of a precinct
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(formerly) a head waiter
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Also called: bell captain. a supervisor of bellboys in a hotel
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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
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captainsimple
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captainssimple
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have captainedperfect
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has captainedperfect
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am captainingprogressive
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are captainingprogressive
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is captainingprogressive
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have been captainingperfect progressive
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has been captainingperfect progressive
Past
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captainedsimple
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had captainedperfect
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was captainingprogressive
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were captainingprogressive
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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:
It follows a tumultuous period which has included the Ashes defeat by Australia, off-field issues, the resignation of Ben Stokes as captain and the sacking of coach Brendon McCullum.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Former England captain Michael Vaughan says he "really fears" for Pakistan and felt "quite sad" watching their heavy defeat by England in the first Test at Headingley.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Møller’s heartless captain has even less personality but he does scamper impressively fast up the mast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Pocomoke organizers pay each captain a flat $2,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The captain had gone out for a career-advancing luncheon with some officers he had met.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
It was one of the key topics when captains, coaches, referees and other stakeholders were consulted in the summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Iran’s attacks have deterred captains from using the route along the Omani coast protected by the Navy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 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
Expecting this, the pilot was prepared to navigate as sea captains had done for centuries, using star charts and a sextant.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
But he showed glimpses of his brilliance for City last season before returning to the Rodri of old as he captained Spain to World Cup success in the summer.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Messi captained Argentina as they won the World Cup in 2022 and led them to the 2026 World Cup final, which his side lost 1-0 to Spain, before returning to club side Inter Miami.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Root's first spell as Test captain was between 2017 and 2022 and he captained England to a record 27 Test wins in 65 matches.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Root, 35, whose first spell as Test captain was between 2017 and 2022, captained England to a record 27 Test wins in 65 matches.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The two brothers who captained the sister ships Quicksilver and Greyhound seemed sympathetic and invited them into the cabin for a glass of Arbor red.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Keegan won 63 England caps over a period lasting almost a decade, scoring 21 goals and captaining the side 31 times.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Before his return to captaining England in Nottingham, he referred only to leading the team "this week".
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Franz Beckenbauer finally got his hands on the World Cup in 1974, captaining West Germany to victory over the much-fancied Netherlands.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 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.
