lieutenant

[loo-ten-uh nt; in British use, except in the navy, lef-ten-uh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lieutenant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Military.

U.S. Navy. a commissioned officer ranking between lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant commander.

a person who holds an office, civil or military, in subordination to a superior for whom he or she acts: If he can't attend, he will send his lieutenant.

Origin of lieutenant

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French, noun use of adj. phrase lieu tenant place-holding. See locum tenens, lieu, tenant

Related formsun·der·lieu·ten·ant, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for lieutenant

help, helper, deputy, aide, second, subordinate, partner, supporter, accomplice, coadjutor, abettor, patron, adjunct, mate, collaborator, friend, colleague, adherent, associate, backer

Examples from the Web for lieutenant

Contemporary Examples of lieutenant

He was a young Army Air Force lieutenant whose plane crashed in the Pacific in May 1943.
Dick Cheney vs. ‘Unbroken’
Mike Barnicle
December 15, 2014
Neary had held the rank of lieutenant since 1983 and received multiple commendations during nearly four decades on the job.
The Mystery Death Of A Female Firefighter
Christopher Moraff
December 13, 2014
In 2010, he finished second with 39 percent in the race for lieutenant governor.
How to Run a Statewide Campaign on $38
Michael Ames
November 12, 2014
He ran on a serious one-issue platform: eliminate the office of lieutenant governor.
How to Run a Statewide Campaign on $38
Michael Ames
November 12, 2014
My immediate chief was a Lieutenant Colonel Verne L. Bowers, clearly picked out by Eisenhower as a highly talented staff officer.
I Saw Nuclear Armageddon Sitting on My Desk
Clive Irving
November 10, 2014

Historical Examples of lieutenant

Lieutenant Rawlins volunteered to try and reach it with the order.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Captain Baker and Lieutenant Wheatley followed with a few more.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Lieutenant Wynter brought these back, as an escort to the guns.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Lieutenant Ford was wounded and a branch of an artery was cut.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Had he not had the strength to do so, Lieutenant Ford must have died.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill

British Dictionary definitions for lieutenant

lieutenant

noun

a military officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a captain

a naval officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a lieutenant commander

US an officer in a police or fire department ranking immediately junior to a captain

a person who holds an office in subordination to or in place of a superior

Derived Formslieutenancy, noun

Word Origin for lieutenant

C14: from Old French, literally: place-holding

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lieutenant

late 14c., "one who takes the place of another," from Old French lieu tenant "substitute, deputy," literally "placeholder," from lieu "place" (see lieu) + tenant, present participle of tenir "to hold" (see tenant). The notion is of a "substitute" for higher authority. Specific military sense of "officer next in rank to a captain" is from 1570s. Pronunciation with lef- is common in Britain, and spellings to reflect it date back to 14c., but the origin of this is a mystery (OED rejects suggestion that it comes from old confusion of -u- and -v-).