petty officer

American  

noun

petty officers plural

1. a noncommissioned U.S. Navy rank with three grades.

2. one of the minor officers on a merchant ship, as a boatswain or carpenter.

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petty officer British  

noun

1. a noncommissioned officer in a naval service, comparable in rank to a sergeant in an army or marine corps

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• petty officers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of petty officer

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

The accused is a chief petty officer fire controlman assigned to a Japan-based guided missile destroyer, the USS Higgins.

From BBC • Feb. 21, 2024

The petty officer was stationed at Port Hueneme’s naval base when he started to pass sensitive material to a Chinese official between August 2021 and May 2023, according to Justice Department officials.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 10, 2023

Speed was a petty officer first class in the U.S.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 7, 2023

Gregory Allen Howard was born Jan. 28, 1952, in Norfolk, but moved frequently because of his stepfather’s assignments as a Navy chief petty officer.

From Washington Post • Jan. 28, 2023

Ishmael Chambers, in the last light of day, found himself seated in the office of the lighthouse chief petty officer, a large man named Evan Powell.

From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson