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

Kathleen Wilder in 1980, who retired as a lieutenant colonel, according to the Army Times. — James Laporta, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2026

He was promoted to lieutenant colonel from major posthumously, his wife said. — Sheryl Lee, Freep.com, 11 Sep. 2026

Riggle served in the Marines for 23 years, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel and serving deployments in Afghanistan, Albania, Liberia and Kosovo before retiring in 2013. — Ashley Hume , Larry Fink, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Colin Pascal is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and a founding member of Protect Maryland Votes, a ballot committee working to inspire Marylanders to oppose Question 3. — Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lieutenant colonel

• diurnal
• eternal
• external
• fraternal
• infernal
• internal
• maternal
• nocturnal
• paternal
• pimpernel
• journal
• kernel

Kids Definition

lieutenant colonel

noun

: a military commissioned officer with a rank just below that of colonel