lieutenant
/l(j)uˈtɛn.ənt/ noun C1- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- A person who manages or executes the plans and directives of another, more senior person; a manager to their director.
- The second-in-command (2IC) of a group.
Plural lieutenants
From the library
“I can only say that the first word that ever came to us of the business was from one of his lieutenants.
“Arthur Charpentier, sub-lieutenant in Her Majesty’s navy,” cried Gregson, pompously, rubbing his fat hands and inflating his chest.
I found out where Lieutenant Charpentier was, took two officers with me, and arrested him.
“Yes, he has a wife, who through everything has behaved like an angel; he has a daughter, who was about to marry the man she loved, but whose family now will not allow him to wed the daughter of a ruined man; he has, besides, a son, a lieutenant in the army; and, as you may suppose, all this, instead of lessening, only augments his sorrows.
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