rear admiral

noun

U.S. Navy, Coast Guard. a commissioned officer next in rank below a vice-admiral.

Nearby words

reapportionment, reappraisal, reappraise, rear, rear adm., rear admiral, rear deck, rear echelon, rear end, rear its ugly head, rear light

Origin of rear admiral

First recorded in 1580–90

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for rear admiral

Two ships were therefore fitted out, and placed under the command of Rear-Admiral d'Entrecasteaux.
Ocean's Story; or Triumphs of Thirty Centuries|Edward Rowland
It is hardly the work for a gentleman born, and the grandson of a rear-admiral.
Mary Anerley|R. D. Blackmore
"I want one of the young gentlemen, sentry," said the rear-admiral.
The Two Admirals|J. Fenimore Cooper
D' y' mean to hint at conspiracy between a rear-admiral of the United States Navy and an enlisted man—a yeoman?
Wide Courses|James Brendan Connolly

He was made a Rear-Admiral, with a pension of $6,000 under retirement.
My Attainment of the Pole|Frederick A. Cook

British Dictionary definitions for rear admiral

rear admiral

noun

an officer holding flag rank in any of certain navies, junior to a vice admiral

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