lance corporal

American  

noun

lance corporals plural

1. U.S. Marine Corps. an enlisted person ranking between private first class and corporal.

2. British Military.

   1. a corporal of the lowest rank.

   2. (formerly) a private acting as corporal without increased pay.

---

lance corporal British  

noun

1. a noncommissioned officer of the lowest rank in the British Army

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lance corporals
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lance corporal

1780–90; lance, shortened form of earlier lancepesade < Middle French lancepessade lowest ranking grade of noncommissioned officer < Italian lancia spezzata superior soldier, literally, broken lance ¹ (from having shivered many lances, i.e., fought well in many battles)

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lance corporal

He advanced to lance corporal and was “well on his way to corporal” before he died, his father said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2023

Jean Macdonald was a lance corporal in the Women's Royal Army Corps.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2022

During his time in the capital he was made lance corporal, then corporal, before being promoted to sergeant in 2019.

From Reuters ● Oct. 7, 2022

Marine Corps lance corporal stationed at a military base, according to court-martial records obtained by The Post.

From Washington Post ● May 5, 2022

He gives a whistle and the lance corporal returns, helmet in hand.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr