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captain

Syllabification: (cap·tain)
Pronunciation: /ˈkaptən/

Translate captain | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of captain

noun

  • the person in command of a ship.
  • the pilot in command of a civil aircraft.
  • a naval officer of high rank, in particular (in the US Navy or Coast Guard) an officer ranking above commander and below commodore.
  • an army officer of high rank, in particular (in the US Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force) an officer ranking above first lieutenant and below major.
  • a police officer in charge of a precinct, ranking below a chief:captain of the 20th precinct
  • the head of a precinct’s fire department.
  • the leader of a team, especially in sports.
  • a powerful or influential person in a particular field:a captain of industry
  • a political party leader in a local district.
  • a supervisor of waiters or bellboys.

verb

[with object]
  • be the captain of (a ship, aircraft, or sports team).

Derivatives

captaincy

Pronunciation: /-tənsē/

noun

Origin:

late Middle English (in the general sense 'chief or leader'): from Old French capitain (superseding earlier chevetaigne 'chieftain'), from late Latin capitaneus 'chief', from Latin caput, capit- 'head'

captain in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of captain in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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