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
Derived 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
A top lieutenant of Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg for more than 20 years, Bosworth’s outspokenness and hard-charging style have made him a magnet for controversy—and, at times, a useful heat shield for his billionaire boss.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 25, 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
But if an appeals court in July bars the 57-year-old from public office over an alleged fake jobs scam in European Parliament, her lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 30, is expected to run in her place.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
During and after his soccer career, Abdol was also a lieutenant in the air force.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
