midshipman
Americannoun
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midshipmen
plural
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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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“I have friends that I made when I was a midshipman that are my friends now 40 years later,” Neira told me.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
More than 125 of Ms. Sherrill’s fellow midshipman were implicated in the Navy’s investigation, and 24 were expelled.
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
Naval Academy, having deemed GPS dependable, stopped teaching midshipmen celestial navigation—the discipline of fixing a ship’s position based on timed sightings of the sun and the stars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
Minutes into the climb, the plebes roll their T-shirts up and throw them, like emcees at a ball game, toward the base of the monument, where other midshipmen use them to wipe off the grease.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
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
Navy destroyer, the crew of the latter on hand to cheer on the midshipmen from Annapolis.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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