first lieutenant
Americannoun
noun
-
the officer responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of a warship, esp the executive officer of a smaller ship in the Royal Navy
-
an officer holding commissioned rank in the US Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, or in certain other forces, senior to a second lieutenant and junior to a captain
Etymology
Origin of first lieutenant
First recorded in 1775–85
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.
He began his work at the modest rank of first lieutenant, though he would be made a captain in 1941.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
They include a letter from Marie Dubosc to her husband, the ship's first lieutenant, Louis Chambrelan.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2023
“I felt stupid the way I walk around and stumble,” said Kalfon, who led a medical aid unit as a first lieutenant in 1964-65.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2023
He volunteered for two years in the Army’s Chaplain Corps at Fort Sill, Okla., where he became a first lieutenant.
From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
As a first lieutenant and platoon leader, Jimmy Cross carried a compass, maps, code books, binoculars, and a .45-caliber pistol that weighed 2.9 pounds fully loaded.
From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
