lieutenant
Americannoun
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Military.
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U.S. Navy. a commissioned officer ranking between lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant commander.
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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.
noun
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a military officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a captain
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a naval officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a lieutenant commander
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an officer in a police or fire department ranking immediately junior to a captain
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a person who holds an office in subordination to or in place of a superior
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lieutenant
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English from Middle French, noun use of adjective phrase lieu tenant “place-holding”; see locum tenens, lieu, tenant
Explanation
A lieutenant is a commissioned officer in the armed forces or the police who can take command if her higher-ups aren't around. Lieutenant is pronounced "loo-TEN-unt." If you're confused about all those vowels, blame the French, because the word comes from the French words lieu, meaning "place," and tenant meaning "holding." A lieutenant is someone who holds the place of authority for the person who really has it. If you start a super secret club, you should choose someone to be the lieutenant who can run meetings when you're not there.
Vocabulary lists containing lieutenant
English Words Derived from French, List 1
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National Spelling Bee '14: Prelims Round 2
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Commonly Misspelled Words, List 6
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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.
The new regime brought in David Rhodes, a longtime Rupert Murdoch lieutenant, and Bari Weiss, editor of the Free Press, as part of the Tiffany Network’s ideological renovation.
From Salon • May 27, 2026
He stopped by the Original Del Taco off 1st Avenue on Saturday after a town hall with lieutenant governor candidate and Barstow native Gloria Romero.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
He becomes the latest top lieutenant fired under Kennedy since the ouster last summer of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez and the February removal of deputy secretary Jim O’Neill.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026
Travis Haines, a lieutenant colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, told the BBC he believes the boost in recruitment is in large part tied to the military reducing bureaucratic hurdles.
From BBC • May 9, 2026
I think this: It is not just the lieutenant who believes all this bad about me.
From "The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle" by Leslie Connor
Definitions 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.
