midshipman
Americannoun
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a student, as at the U.S. Naval Academy, in training for commission as ensign in the Navy or second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.
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British Navy.
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an officer of the rank held by young men immediately upon graduating from the government naval schools.
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(initial capital letter) the title and rank of such a graduate.
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(formerly) one of a class of boys or young men who formed the group from which officers were chosen.
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Also called singingfish. any toadfish of the genus Porichthys, having many small luminous organs on the underside and producing a buzzing sound with its air bladder.
noun
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a probationary rank held by young naval officers under training, or an officer holding such a rank
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any of several American toadfishes of the genus Porichthys, having small light-producing organs on the undersurface of their bodies
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of midshipman
Vocabulary lists containing midshipman
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.
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Before midshipman Lincoln Hedberg steps off the bandstand and the Herndon Climb ends, he takes the microphone and sings “Navy Blue & Gold,” USNA’s alma mater.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
She says it was because she refused to name a fellow midshipman who did cheat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2025
It’s not just that midshipman fish are easier to capture than actual sailors.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2024
For talkative midshipman fish -- sometimes called the "California singing fish" -- the midbrain plays a robust role in initiating and patterning of sounds used in vocal communication.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 3, 2024
His elder half-brother, Lawrence, who had been a British officer, saw to it that George was accepted as a midshipman in the Royal Navy.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
Larger midshipmen stay at the bottom, taking the brunt of the weight.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
I’ll always shout “Go Navy! Beat Army!” knowing that the midshipmen and cadets serve a cause greater than self.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 30, 2025
The navy did not want its midshipmen wasting their time on such frivolities.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2025
A retired Navy commander organized an effort to make the banned books available to midshipmen.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2025
At a half mile, Washington continued to lead by about the same margin, with Syracuse just behind them and the midshipmen of Navy, on their outside, just a few feet behind Syracuse.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
