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 is thought the 18-year-old will become the youngest captain in Lions history when he leads the side in three T20s against West Indies A in St Kitts and Nevis in November.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
England will relish their underdog tag when they take on a powerful Tonga side in their World Cup opener in Perth on Saturday, captain George Williams says.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
He’s considering reaching out to an airline captain who says Avi can join a morning flight from Newark to Washington, D.C., and be home by the afternoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
He’s shadowed a dog groomer, a radio show host and a ramen shop owner, and is reviewing requests from an airline captain and a tattoo artist.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
“It is the fault of the beets,” the captain said.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Opinion on whether she should continue as captain was sharply divided among former women players and captains.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Oil-tanker captains are being offered up to $100,000 per month to navigate the Strait of Hormuz.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
It noted that middle-rank fire captains were often more trusted than the formal command staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
"Most German ship captains say, that's too shallow, I'm not sailing there anymore," Matthias Roeser, from the German Inland Shipping Association, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
‘Yet now under the Lord of Barad-dûr the most fell of all his captains is already master of your outer walls,’ said Gandalf.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Doing that would betray their ignorance of the show’s legacy, especially the five seasons that Allen captained.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
Boatsetter made the booking easy, and because the sailboat was captained by its owner, all I really had to worry about was keeping dinner from burning.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Wallace and Amarante's father Semo Sititi, who played for Borders and Newcastle and captained Samoa, has travelled to Johannesburg for the match.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's final game for his country, who he captained to World Cup glory in Qatar in 2022, was the 2026 World Cup final defeat by Spain in July.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
And I’ve never captained one, if truth be told.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Take a seat on a curvaceous wooden bench and imagine you’re captaining a spaceship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Keegan signed Alan Shearer for a world record £15m fee for Newcastle in 1996 and also took charge of England at a time when the striker was captaining his country.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
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
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
Todd steered the boat like he was captaining a great yacht.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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