lieutenant

American  

[loo-ten-uhnt, lef-ten-uhnt] / luˈtɛn ənt, lɛfˈtɛn ənt /

noun

1. Military.

   1. first lieutenant.

   2. second lieutenant.

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

3. a person who holds an office, civil or military, in subordination to a superior they act for.

   If he can't attend, he will send his lieutenant.

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lieutenant British  

/ luːˈtɛnənt, lɛfˈtɛnənt /

noun

1. a military officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a captain

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

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

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

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Other Word Forms

• lieutenancy noun
• underlieutenant noun

Etymology

Origin of lieutenant

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English from Middle French, noun use of adjective phrase lieu tenant “place-holding”; locum tenens, lieu, tenant

Example Sentences

He later became one of the firebrand’s most loyal lieutenants.

From The Wall Street Journal

A lieutenant called AI without safety like driving on a highway without brakes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kennedy and his top lieutenants were set to announce the Denmark alignment in an event Friday afternoon at the HHS headquarters in Washington, D. C., people familiar with the matter said.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the lack of progress on the issue has started to rankle the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union for officers below the rank of lieutenant.

From Los Angeles Times

Behind the scenes, Marocco and his lieutenants repeatedly obstructed USAID’s Africa, humanitarian aid and global health bureaus from restarting programs critical for responding to disease outbreaks, according to interviews and memos obtained by ProPublica.

From Salon