second lieutenant

American

noun

U.S. Military.

an Army, Air Force, or Marine officer of the lowest commissioned rank.

second lieutenant British

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

Etymology

Origin of second lieutenant

First recorded in 1695–1705

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.

See Examples For:

second lieutenant

Mr Smith joined the US Marine Corps as a second lieutenant after graduating from Yale University.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2025

After graduating, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, earned a commission as a second lieutenant and served in various locations in the United States and Japan.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2024

Ms. Oliver was the second lieutenant governor in New Jersey after the post was created in 2010.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 1, 2023

Smith grew up in Plano, Texas, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1987 through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program at Texas A&M University.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2023

He graduated in May of 1964 as a second lieutenant, and they got married at our home church, Carver Memorial, in July 1965.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023