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first lieutenant
noun
1
: a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a second lieutenant and below a captain
2
: a naval officer responsible for a ship's upkeep
Examples of first lieutenant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 27 May 2024
The United States Cavalry arrives eventually to help pick up the pieces; one of their numbers is a soulful young first lieutenant played by Sam Worthington.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 21 May 2024
Age 27, Bell is now a 230-pound first lieutenant in the U.S. Army who was so inspired by the class, he’s made miniature war-gaming part of this life.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 25 Jan. 2024
In 1956, Palestinian guerrillas attacked farmers in the fields of Nahal Oz, an Israeli kibbutz near Gaza, and killed and mutilated a young first lieutenant.
—Ronen Bergman, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2023
The teddy bear at the center of Ms. Anthony’s mum was dressed in a miniature version of her blue-and-white first lieutenant’s uniform.
—Rachel Sherman, New York Times, 30 Sep. 2023
His father, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force was killed in a 1949 crash while stationed on Okinawa.
—George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2023
He was eventually promoted to first lieutenant, and was a member of the 75th Rangers Regime.
—Alexis Chestnov, Peoplemag, 10 Nov. 2023
As an Army first lieutenant and Cobra helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, Larry Taylor flew hundreds of missions and saved countless lives.
—CBS News, 1 Sep. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'first lieutenant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1697, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Articles Related to first lieutenant
Dictionary Entries Near first lieutenant
Cite this Entry
“First lieutenant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/first%20lieutenant. Accessed 16 Jun. 2024.
Kids Definition
first lieutenant
noun
: a military commissioned officer with a rank just below that of captain
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