lieutenant

American  

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

noun

lieutenants plural

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

Derived Forms

• lieutenancy
  noun
• underlieutenant
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• lieutenants
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lieutenant lieutenants

Isaac del Toro, of Mexico, came third after acting as Pogacar’s main lieutenant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

He graduated from the Kharkiv Institute of Tank Troops in 2004 and began serving as a lieutenant.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

He began as a lieutenant and rose through the ranks, shooting to nationwide fame during the war with Russia-backed separatists in 2014.

From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026

Kansas established its current system following a scandal in 1956 involving self-dealing by the governor, lieutenant governor, and chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026

The lieutenant nodded almost imperceptibly at my robes.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

From what my lieutenants tell me, it’s being well-received, the numbers are good.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

He often delegates difficult conversations to trusted lieutenants.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the operation also killed several al-Mainuki lieutenants.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 16, 2026

Tinubu said in his statement that al-Minuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, was slain along with his lieutenants, "on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin", a restive region straddling Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

From Barron's ● May 16, 2026

When both were second lieutenants, Bull had the makings of a good drill instructor while Virgil had the stuff to command many divisions of Marines.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy