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lieutenant colonel
noun
: a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a major and below a colonel
Examples of lieutenant colonel in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In particular, the CIA received a tip from Cuban Army lieutenant colonel who defected to the U.S. and who identified Rocha as a spy in 2006.
—Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 15 Apr. 2024
Wells is the Indiana Democratic Party’s deputy chair for coalition and expansion and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserves.
—Brittany Carloni, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Jan. 2024
Gabbard is also a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves who was deployed twice to Iraq and Kuwait and took a two-week absence from the presidential campaign trail in 2020 to report for active duty in Indonesia with the Hawaiian Army National Guard.
—Beatrice Peterson, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2024
David Slater, 63, a former Army lieutenant colonel who was working in a civilian role for U.S. Strategic Command, was arrested Saturday, the Justice Department said Monday.
—Phil Helsel, NBC News, 5 Mar. 2024
His wife, Peggy Bahnsen, a retired lieutenant colonel, confirmed the death.
—Michael S. Rosenwald, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2024
Abdallah, 40, a lieutenant colonel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), was killed on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon on October 9, just two days after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, kidnapping more than 250 and sending regional tensions soaring.
—Lianne Kolirin, CNN, 21 Feb. 2024
Turley is currently a senior and a cadet lieutenant colonel in the program.
—Emma Hall, Sacramento Bee, 23 Feb. 2024
The bill states that the sheriff’s salary would be equal to the pay of the highest available step for a lieutenant colonel in the Maryland State Police.
—Sherry Greenfield, Baltimore Sun, 20 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lieutenant colonel.' 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
1598, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of lieutenant colonel was
in 1598
Articles Related to lieutenant colonel
Dictionary Entries Near lieutenant colonel
Cite this Entry
“Lieutenant colonel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lieutenant%20colonel. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
lieutenant colonel
noun
: a military commissioned officer with a rank just below that of colonel
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