executive officer

American  

noun

1. the officer second in command of a military or naval organization.

2. an officer charged with executive duties, as in a corporation.

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executive officer British  

noun

1.  XO.  the second-in-command of any of certain military units

2. a specialist seaman officer, responsible under the captain for the routine efficient running of the ship in the US, British (formerly), and certain other navies

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Etymology

Origin of executive officer

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

Block is well-known as the founder and chief executive officer of Muddy Waters Capital, a hedge fund and investment research firm, with a string of successful bearish bets to his name.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Koji Yanai, a senior executive officer and Tadashi’s son, said the company aspires to grow annual U.S. revenues from $6 billion to $30 billion.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

By 2028, Unicharm aims to recycle the plastic and absorbent polymer from soiled diapers to make new ones as well, Tsutomu Kido, senior executive officer of Unicharm's recycling business, told AFP.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Newey stepped into the role as team principal, in addition to his wider role, in November last year after problems emerged in his relationship with then team principal and chief executive officer Andy Cowell.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

He ran Novell, one of Silicon Valley’s most important software firms, and in 2001, he became the chief executive officer of Google.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• administrator
• chief
• executive
• head
• leader
• organizer
• player
• principal
• producer
• supervisor