captain

1 of 2

noun

cap·​tain ˈkap-tən How to pronounce captain (audio)
 also  ˈkap-ᵊm
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
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
captaincy noun
captainship noun

captain

2 of 2

verb

captained; captaining; captains

transitive verb

: to be captain of : lead
captained the football team

Examples of captain in a Sentence

Noun 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 Verb The ship was captained by John Smith. She captained last year's team.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Both of the ship captains temporarily lost their licenses after the accident. Stephen Smith, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2024 The assist gave the former Boston University captain 76 points this season, tying the Mavericks’ ECHL single-season record for points in a season. Zach Welch, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024 The Panthers are likely to get some long-term insurance for Thompson in the draft, but for now, the longtime captain is expected to make the calls for the defense this season. Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 25 Mar. 2024 The series revolves around a female police captain, Noemie Chastain, investigating on a cold case. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 21 Mar. 2024 The series follows Sam (Rose McIver) and Jay (Utkarsh Ambudkar), a married couple who inherit a gorgeous country home, only to discover it’s haunted by eight ghosts who inhabited the house at different points in history, including a Revolutionary War captain, a jazz singer, and a Viking. Kevin Jacobsen and Hope Lasater, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2024 The former Oakland police captain at the center of a misconduct cover-up scandal last year claims in a new federal lawsuit that he was unfairly blamed for a subordinate officer’s mishandling of an internal affairs investigation. Shomik Mukherjee, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 In Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, Culver’s character, as captain of the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger, loses track of the Millennium Falcon piloted by Han Solo during a pursuit. Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Mar. 2024 Spirit Award Vaughan Hawkins, Bishop Fenwick The senior is a four-year member of the varsity football and lacrosse teams, serving as a captain for both teams during his senior year. Melanie Laughman, The Enquirer, 8 Mar. 2024
Verb
But while most of Barreiro’s co-defendants have been sentenced to periods between four and six years for their more minor roles, such as captaining drug-laden boats, Barreiro was described in court Monday and in various filings in the case as one of the highest-level members of her organization. Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Mar. 2024 The official Facebook page for Griffin, who captained the vessel Reels of Fortune, confirmed the news. Jessica Wang, EW.com, 5 Mar. 2024 When Church started captaining Edelweiss Cruises, Velez would sometimes sit in the pilot house with a kiddie cocktail and coloring book while her mom worked. Journal Sentinel, 5 Mar. 2024 No one gave the Green Falcons much of a chance against the tournament’s eventual winners – an Argentinian team unbeaten in 36 games, captained by one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi. Saudi Delegation To The World Economic Forum, USA TODAY, 16 Jan. 2024 Game of Thrones ended with Arya Stark captaining a ship to find out what lands lay west of Westeros. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024 Kansas City has won nine of those previous dozen regular-season and playoff games. Kelce, a magnetic force of a tight end, has played some of his best football with Swift captaining cheers from up in the bleachers. David K. Li, NBC News, 11 Feb. 2024 In five years, George Kittle might decide to bail on football to captain the U.S. curling team. Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 2 Feb. 2024 Hertl still attended the NHL All-Star festivities from Feb. 1-3 in Toronto and at less than full strength, played in the 3-on-3 tournament that saw his team with captain Connor McDavid make the final but lose to a team captained by Auston Matthews. Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'captain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

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

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of captain was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near captain

Cite this Entry

“Captain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captain. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

captain

1 of 2 noun
cap·​tain ˈkap-tən How to pronounce captain (audio)
1
a
: the commanding officer of a military unit
b
: a military commissioned officer with a rank just below that of major
2
a
: the commanding officer of a ship
b
: a naval commissioned officer with a rank just below that of commodore
3
: a fire or police department officer with a rank usually between that of chief and lieutenant
4
a
: the leader of a team or side
b
: a person in charge of several waiters in a restaurant
captaincy noun

captain

2 of 2 verb
: to be captain of
Etymology

Noun

Middle English capitane "military leader," from early French capitain (same meaning), from Latin capitaneus "chief," from caput "head" — related to cadet, capital, chief

More from Merriam-Webster on captain

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