petty officer


noun
  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.

Origin of petty officer

1
First recorded in 1570–80

Words Nearby petty officer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use petty officer in a sentence

  • There arose cries and shoutings without, and a petty officer burst into the hut, puffed with importance and pride.

    The Island of Enchantment | Justus Miles Forman
  • The petty officer had told him that he appeared to be quite sick when he came on board the night before.

    Stand By The Union | Oliver Optic
  • The petty officer himself, chancing to look to port, suddenly saw a submarine on the surface….

    The Story of Our Submarines | John Graham Bower

British Dictionary definitions for petty officer

petty officer

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012