captain

play

noun cap·tain \ ˈkap-tən also ˈkap-ᵊm \

Definition of captain

1 a (1) :a military leader :the commander of a unit or a body of troops

(2) :a subordinate officer commanding under a sovereign or general

(3) :a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a first lieutenant and below a major

b (1) :a naval officer who is master or commander of a ship

(2) :a commissioned officer in the navy ranking above a commander and below a commodore and in the coast guard ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral

c :a senior pilot who commands the crew of an airplane

d :an officer in a police department or fire department in charge of a unit (such as a precinct or company) and usually ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief

2 :one who leads or supervises: such as

a :a leader of a sports team or side

b :headwaiter

c :a person in charge of hotel bellhops — called also bell captain

3 :a person of importance or influence in a field

captains of industry

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captaincy

play \ˈkap-tən-sē\ noun

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captainship

play \-ˌship\ noun

See captain defined for English-language learners

See captain defined for kids

Examples of captain in a Sentence

The captain has turned off the “fasten seat belt” sign.
the captain is responsible for everything that happens to his ship in the course of a voyage

Recent Examples of captain from the Web

Veteran team captains Parham, Mike Johnson and Dayvion Johnson, will anchor a defense that is expected to play big and have a great year.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "2017 high school football preview," 30 Aug. 2017
TBA Did the Utes make the right decision in naming sophomore Tyler Huntley the starting quarterback over senior Troy Williams, who was voted captain by his teammates?

— stefanie loh, The Seattle Times, "Breaking down WSU’s schedule: Can the Cougars finally win a season-opener under Mike Leach?," 29 Aug. 2017
Matt Surface, a one-time captain under Bill Mallory, was a ball boy alongside Allen.

— zach osterman, The Courier-Journal, "Wherever Tom Allen goes, improvement follows — here's why," 28 Aug. 2017
Sydnor, a cheerleading captain and member of her high school’s award-winning jazz choir, was gunned down by a stray bullet, D.C. police said.

— paula rogo, Essence.com, "Jamahri Sydnor Was Killed 10 Days Before Heading To College. Now Her Organs Are Saving Lives.," 24 Aug. 2017
The Navy last week said the Fitzgerald's captain was being relieved of his command and other sailors were being punished after poor seamanship and flaws in keeping watch were found to have contributed to its collision.

— Bloomberg.com, "U.S. Navy 7th Fleet Commander to Be Removed," 23 Aug. 2017
The Sport comes with dual captain’s chairs in the middle row, lowering capacity to seven.

— g. chambers williams iii, star-telegram, "Toyota Highlander gets refreshed exterior, new V-6 engine, 8-speed automatic for 2017," 18 Aug. 2017
Marquez is a former Barcelona and New York Red Bulls star who currently plays for the Mexican soccer club Atlas in Guadalajara and is captain of the Mexican national team.

— Hoy, "Mexican soccer star Rafa Marquez and Norteño singer Julion Alvarez among 22 sanctioned for drug ties," 9 Aug. 2017
The organization is made up of captains and crew from the 11 whaling communities.

— sarah zhang, The Atlantic, "The Native Alaskan Hunters Teaching Scientists About Whales," 31 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'captain.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of captain

Middle English capitane, from Anglo-French capitain, from Late Latin capitaneus, adjective & noun, chief, from Latin capit-, caput head — more at head

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

captain Synonyms

Synonyms

commander, skip, skipper

Related Words

sea captain; master, pilot; commanding officer; admiral, commodore, vice admiral; mate, officer

Near Antonyms

crew, crewman, crewmate

captain

verb

Definition of captain

transitive verb

:to be captain of :lead

captained the football team

See captain defined for English-language learners

Examples of captain in a Sentence

The ship was captained by John Smith.
She captained last year's team.

Recent Examples of captain from the Web

Upcoming Blackbeard events The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort is the official repository for the artifacts from the Queen Anne's Revenge, the ship once captained by Blackbeard.

— kristen jordan shamus, Detroit Free Press, "North Carolina's Crystal Coast offers quiet beach vacation with pirate adventures," 19 Aug. 2017
The behemoth was caught aboard the Dan Orion, captained by Wiley's husband, Dan Wiley.

— mike campbell, Alaska Dispatch News, "Valdez woman lands 374-pound halibut aboard husband’s charter boat," 8 Aug. 2017
The Airbus A320, captained by Alexander Akopov and owned by Turkish company Atlasglobal, was ferrying 121 passengers and 6 crew from Istanbul to Erkan, Cyprus.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Hero Pilot Lands Safely Through Giant Hail," 1 Aug. 2017
It’s hard to imagine Bannon’s gambit joining up with the effort that Mnuchin and Cohn have been captaining on the administration’s behalf.

— tory newmyer, Washington Post, "The Finance 202: Tax rewrite has made major progress. Or not.," 27 July 2017
Jack Taylor, 91, captained the Portland from 1968 to 1972.

— samantha swindler, OregonLive.com, "Portland's Sternwheeler: A boat as a bridge to the past (Column)," 23 July 2017
After captaining the team for two games, Bedoya had always planned to head home immediately after Saturday’s match to join his wife, expecting the birth of their second child.

— julia b. poe, Philly.com, "U.S. stars arrive in Philly ahead of Gold Cup quarterfinals," 17 July 2017
For restaurant deliveryman Jose (Fernando Cardona, terrific), who captains the team, that burning question is sparked by an unhappy scheduling conflict between the upcoming championship match and work.

— sheri linden, The Hollywood Reporter, "'En el Septimo Dia': Film Review," 1 July 2017
Boat racing in Madison dates to the 1800s, when steamboat captains liquored up on Kentucky moonshine challenged each other to races on the Ohio at speeds reaching 10 mph.

— gregg doyel, The Courier-Journal, "Doyel: Can a dead man save the Madison Regatta?," 28 June 2017

First Known Use of captain

1598

captain Synonyms

Synonyms

boss, handle, head, overlook, oversee, quarterback, superintend, supervise

Related Words

administer, command, control, direct, guide, manage, order, run, shepherd, show, steer; monitor, preside (over); govern, reign, rule

Near Antonyms

bow (to), comply (with), defer (to), follow, obey, serve, submit (to), yield (to)

CAPTAIN Defined for English Language Learners

captain

play

noun

Definition of captain for English Language Learners

: a person who is in charge of a ship or an airplane
: an officer of high rank in some branches of the military
: an officer of high rank in a police or fire department

captain

verb

Definition of captain for English Language Learners

: to be in charge of (a ship or airplane)
: to lead (a team)

CAPTAIN Defined for Kids

captain

play

noun cap·tain \ ˈkap-tən \

Definition of captain for Students

1 :the commanding officer of a ship

2 :a leader of a group :someone in command

the captain of a football team

3 :an officer of high rank in a police or fire department

4 :a commissioned officer in the navy or coast guard ranking above a commander

5 :a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking below a major

Word Root of captain

The Latin word caput, meaning “head," gives us the root capit, which is sometimes shortened to capt. Words from the Latin caput have something to do with the head or a place where decisions are made. The capital of a state or country is the city where the government is and where decisions are made about laws. A captain is the person who heads a group and leads his members. To decapitate is to cut off someone's head.