A colonel is a senior officer in an army, air force, or the marines.
This particular place was run by an ex-Army colonel.
...Colonel Edward Staley.
colonel in British English
(ˈkɜːnəl)
noun
an officer of land or air forces junior to a brigadier but senior to a lieutenant colonel
Derived forms
colonelcy (ˈcolonelcy) or colonelship (ˈcolonelˌship)
noun
Word origin
C16: via Old French, from Old Italian colonnello column of soldiers, from colonnacolumn
colonel in American English
(ˈkɜrnəl)
noun
1.
a military officer ranking above a lieutenant colonel and below a brigadier general, and corresponding to a captain in the navy
2. US
an honorary, nonmilitary title in some southern or western U.S. states
Derived forms
colonelcy (ˈcolonelcy) (ˈkɜrnəlsi)
nounWord forms: pluralˈcolonelcies
Word origin
earlier coronel < Fr colonel, coronel (-r- by dissimilation) < It colonello < colonna, (military) column < L columna, column; Fr & E sp. modified after L & It, but older pronun. kept in E
Examples of 'colonel' in a sentence
colonel
Will the retired army colonel put in an appearance today?
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
My father was a colonel in the air force.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
In two years he rose from lieutenant colonel to major general.
Garraty, John Arthur The American Nation: A History of the United States to 1877 (1995)
He rose as high as a lieutenant colonel.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He ended the war as a lieutenant colonel and went on to be a distinguished diplomat.
The Sun (2010)
It is written by a retired artillery colonel who is a fervent defender of his old arm of the service.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
Now the colonel's regular forces have turned on him across the east of the country.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
How should a lieutenant colonel in the Marines address a captain in the navy?
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The customs officer was a colonel in the Royal Artillery.
Chris Gidney CELEBRATING SECOMBE: A Tribute to Sir Harry Secombe (2002)
He is the second retired British colonel to be killed in Kenya in the past two weeks.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
But a retired colonel said: 'On operational tours dress code is irrelevant.
The Sun (2009)
Its builder, a lieutenant colonel, had a string of railways to his name.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Five Americans were also killed in the last week, one a lieutenant colonel.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The men, in uniforms of a major and lieutenant colonel, got past security into a compound.
The Sun (2006)
I saw the lieutenant colonel.
Oliver Poole BLACK KNIGHTS: On the Bloody Road to Baghdad (2003)
In other languages
colonel
British English: colonel /ˈkɜːnl/ NOUN
A colonel is a senior officer in an army, air force, or the marines.
This particular place was run by an ex-Army colonel.
American English: colonel
Arabic: عَقِيد
Brazilian Portuguese: coronel
Chinese: 陆军上校
Croatian: pukovnik
Czech: plukovník
Danish: oberst
Dutch: kolonel
European Spanish: coronel
Finnish: eversti
French: colonel
German: Oberst
Greek: συνταγματάρχης
Italian: colonnello
Japanese: 大佐
Korean: 육군 대령
Norwegian: oberst
Polish: pułkownik
European Portuguese: coronel
Romanian: colonel
Russian: полковник
Latin American Spanish: coronel
Swedish: överste
Thai: พันเอก
Turkish: albay
Ukrainian: полковник
Vietnamese: đại tá
All related terms of 'colonel'
bird colonel
a full colonel in the US Army
Colonel Blimp
a person, esp a military officer , who is stupidly complacent and reactionary
chicken colonel
an officer with the rank of full colonel
lieutenant colonel
an officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a colonel in certain armies , air forces, and marine corps