A lieutenant is an officer of low rank in the army, navy, marines, or air force, or in the American police force.
Lieutenant Campbell ordered the man at the wheel to steer for the gunboat.
Lieutenant is also a combining form.
...Lieutenant Colonel Gale Carter.
2. countable noun [usually poss NOUN]
If you refer to someone as a person's lieutenant, you mean they are that person's assistant, especially their main assistant, in an organization or activity.
He was my right-hand man, my lieutenant on the field, a cool, calculated footballer.
lieutenant in British English
(lɛfˈtɛnənt, US English luːˈtɛnənt)
noun
1.
a military officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a captain
2.
a naval officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a lieutenant commander
3. US
an officer in a police or fire department ranking immediately junior to a captain
4.
a person who holds an office in subordination to or in place of a superior
Derived forms
lieutenancy (lieuˈtenancy)
noun
Word origin
C14: from Old French, literally: place-holding
lieutenant in American English
(luˈtɛnənt; British and Canadian lɛfˈtɛnənt)
noun
1.
a person who acts for a superior, as during the latter's absence; aide; deputy
2.
an officer ranking below a captain as in a police or fire department
3. US Military
a title used in addressing a first lieutenant or second lieutenant
see also first lieutenant, second lieutenant
4. US Navy
an officer ranking above a lieutenant junior grade and below a lieutenant commander
Derived forms
lieutenancy (lieuˈtenancy) (ˈluˈtɛnənsi)
nounWord forms: plurallieuˈtenancies
Word origin
ME lutenand, luftenand < MFr < lieu (see lieu) + tenant, holding, prp. of tenir, to hold < L tenere, to hold: see thin
Examples of 'lieutenant' in a sentence
lieutenant
He was wearing the uniform of a second lieutenant in a cavalry regiment.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The story was denounced by another navy lieutenant.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
The duelling second lieutenants were both said to be in their 20s.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
With a full lieutenant commander 's uniform a bad guy could simply walk in.
The Sun (2006)
This reads as an indictment of the captain and his lieutenants, and so it is.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
After serving as a second lieutenant at various camps around the country, he was sent to India but peace was declared as he arrived.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
lieutenant
British English: lieutenant /lɛfˈtɛnənt; luːˈtɛnənt/ NOUN
A lieutenant is a junior officer in the army, navy, or air force.