lieutenant

noun, adj — 9 senses

lieutenant

noun

AU, NZ, UK /lɛfˈtɛn.ənt/ · US /l(j)uˈtɛn.ənt/

Etymology From Middle English lieutenant, lieftenaunt, from Anglo-Norman lieutenant, lyutenaunt, leu tenant, leu tenaunt (“deputy, lieutenant”), from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holder”). Doublet of locum tenens and stadtholder.

8 senses
  1. 1In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank…
  2. 2A naval officer whose rank is above that of ensign in…
  3. 3A commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard…
  4. 4A commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal…
  5. 5A naval officer whose rank is above that of sub-lieutenan…
  6. 6A naval commissioned officer who holds the rank above…
  7. 7A person who manages or executes the plans and…
  8. 8The second-in-command (2IC) of a group.

› The lowest junior commissioned officer…

1

Government, Military, Politics, War US In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant" or as the complete forms of the ranks.

2

Government, Military, Navy, Politics, War US A naval officer whose rank is above that of ensign in the United States Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.

3

Government, Military, Politics, War US A commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration whose rank is above that of ensign and below lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.

4

Government, Military, Politics, War UK A commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant"; however, "second lieutenant" is to specify that the officer is not yet a full lieutenant.

5

Government, Military, Politics, War UK A naval officer whose rank is above that of sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander.

6

Government, Military, Politics, War Australia, Canada, New Zealand A naval commissioned officer who holds the rank above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant commander.

7

A person who manages or executes the plans and directives of another, more senior person; a manager to their director.

  • Mr. Scott immediately asked someone at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Wash., to get Mr. Nadella, the chief executive, out of a meeting he was having with top lieutenants.2023 December 9, Tripp Mickle, Cade Metz, Mike Isaac, Karen Weise, “Inside OpenAI’s Crisis Over the Future of Artificial Intelligence”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
8

The second-in-command (2IC) of a group.

Synonyms
Lt., LT, lieut, Lieut., Lieut
Derived terms
36 termsbrevet lieutenant, captain lieutenant, corvette lieutenant, desk lieutenant, fifth lieutenant, first lieutenant, flag lieutenant, flight lieutenant, fourth lieutenant, frigate lieutenant, junior lieutenant, lieutenant admiral, lieutenant-admiral, lieutenant captain, lieutenant colonel, lieutenant-colonel, lieutenant-colonelcy, lieutenant commander, lieutenantess, lieutenant general, lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, lieutenant junior grade, lieutenant marshal, lieutenantry, lieutenant senior grade, lieutenantship, police lieutenant, second lieutenant, senior lieutenant, shift lieutenant, ship of the line lieutenant, staff lieutenant, sublieutenant, third lieutenant, underlieutenant
Related terms
subaltern

lieutenant

adj

Etymology From Middle English lieutenant, lieftenaunt, from Anglo-Norman lieutenant, lyutenaunt, leu tenant, leu tenaunt (“deputy, lieutenant”), from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holder”). Doublet of locum tenens and stadtholder.

1

A military grade that is junior to the grade the adjective modifies: lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, lieutenant commander.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.