ensign
noun
en·sign ˈen(t)-sən 
also for senses 1, 2, & 3a
ˈen-ˌsīn 1
: a flag that is flown (as by a ship) as the symbol of nationality and that may also be flown with a distinctive badge added to its design
2
a
: a badge of office, rank, or power
b
: emblem, sign
3
a
: an infantry officer of what was formerly the lowest commissioned rank
b
: a commissioned officer in the navy or coast guard ranking above a chief warrant officer and below a lieutenant junior grade
Synonyms
- emblem
- hallmark
- impresa
- logo
- symbol
- totem
- trademark
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
that ensign of tutorial authority, the hickory stick fittingly, the organization promoting the welfare of marine life features a dolphin on its ensign
Recent Examples on the Web And all this happens there, in the solitude of reading, while the ensign takes a nap. 
Phil Klay, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021 Her first tour as an ensign took her to Seattle for an assignment aboard an icebreaker, the Polar Star. New York Times, 31 May 2022 He was commissioned an ensign in 1963, and served aboard the USS Constellation as a nuclear weapons officer. Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 7 Apr. 2022 Melvin washes out, whereas Connell would become an ensign and train new recruits in New Orleans. Gemma Sieff, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Jan. 2022 After initially saying Kazuo was dead, the navy sent a higher-ranking officer to confide that the ensign was missing. Chieko Tsuneoka, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2021 Cervantes could have made the ensign read the manuscript aloud to the licentiate. Phil Klay, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021 On Friday, the day after Veterans Day, Ouellette will graduate top of her class from the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, as an ensign. Lori Riley, courant.com, 10 Nov. 2021 In June 1954, Rumsfeld graduated and was commissioned an ensign in the Navy. Robert Burns, ajc, 1 July 2021 See More
Phil Klay, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021 Her first tour as an ensign took her to Seattle for an assignment aboard an icebreaker, the Polar Star. New York Times, 31 May 2022 He was commissioned an ensign in 1963, and served aboard the USS Constellation as a nuclear weapons officer. Frederick N. Rasmussen, Baltimore Sun, 7 Apr. 2022 Melvin washes out, whereas Connell would become an ensign and train new recruits in New Orleans. Gemma Sieff, Harper’s Magazine , 4 Jan. 2022 After initially saying Kazuo was dead, the navy sent a higher-ranking officer to confide that the ensign was missing. Chieko Tsuneoka, WSJ, 7 Dec. 2021 Cervantes could have made the ensign read the manuscript aloud to the licentiate. Phil Klay, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021 On Friday, the day after Veterans Day, Ouellette will graduate top of her class from the U.S. Navy’s Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island, as an ensign. Lori Riley, courant.com, 10 Nov. 2021 In June 1954, Rumsfeld graduated and was commissioned an ensign in the Navy. Robert Burns, ajc, 1 July 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English ensigne, sign, token, banner, from Anglo-French enseigne, from Latin insignia insignia, flags
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
ensign
noun
en·sign
ˈen-sən,
1 is also -ˌsīn
1
: a flag flown as the symbol of nationality
2
: a commissioned officer of the lowest rank in the navy or coast guard
ensigns
noun
1
as in emblems
a device, design, or figure used as an identifying mark that ensign of tutorial authority, the hickory stick Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- emblems
- symbols
- logos
- trademarks
- hallmarks
- insignia
- totems
- badges
- insignias
- attributes
- crests
- impresas
- pictographs
- logograms
- logographs
- icons
- monograms
- tokens
- ikons
- stamps
- cognizances
- colophons
- coats of arms
2
as in flags
a piece of cloth with a special design that is used as an emblem or for signaling fittingly, the organization promoting the welfare of marine life features a dolphin on its ensign Synonyms & Similar Words
- flags
- banners
- pennons
- pennants
- guidons
- colors
- standards
- streamers
- insignia
- pendents
- insignias
- pendants
- banderoles
- jacks
- tricolors
- burgees
- banderols
- badges
- signalers
- crests
- buntings
- white flags
- semaphores
- black flags
- signallers
- gonfalons
- union jacks
- wafts
- coats of arms
- Jolly Rogers
- law of motion
- law of nations
- law of nature
- law of noncontradiction
- law of parsimony
- law of priority
- law of recapitulation
- law of reflection
- law of segregation
- law of signs
- law of sines
- law of sufficient reason
- law of superposition
- law of supply and demand
- law of tangents
- law of the flag
- law of the jungle
- law of the staple
- law of thought
- law of Titius
- law of transposition
- law of von Baer
- law of war
- law of Weber-Fechner
- law office