second lieutenant

Save This Word!

noun U.S. Military.

an Army, Air Force, or Marine officer of the lowest commissioned rank.Compare ensign (def. 4).

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of second lieutenant

First recorded in 1695–1705

Words nearby second lieutenant

second intention, Second International, second lady, second language, second lien, second lieutenant, secondly, second man, second mate, secondment, second messenger

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

How to use second lieutenant in a sentence

There is also a second-lieutenant attached to my company, a Saint-Maixentian, young and solid, and something of a dandy.
'Neath Verdun, August-October, 1914|Maurice Genevoix
I supposed the army accountability system would bow to a second-lieutenant who had been under fire.
Miss Ravenel's conversion from secession to loyalty|J. W. de Forest
I chanced to notice a young and rosy-cheeked second-lieutenant, innocent of the ways of this rude world, and I knew he was doomed.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, October 31, 1917|Various
"But he isn't stopping for us," chimed in the second-lieutenant, and his dictum was emphasized by his slight lisp.
A Traitor's Wooing|Headon Hill

Second-Lieutenant Wood and his platoon are erecting a wire entanglement.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, March 22, 1916|Various

British Dictionary definitions for second lieutenant

second lieutenant

noun

an officer holding the lowest commissioned rank in the armed forces of certain nations

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