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
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
Synonyms
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
Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
Cody is a former Kansas City Police Department captain, who left the agency after 24 years to become chief in Marion earlier this year.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
The ship’s captain blew a distress signal to alert nearby vessels and tried to slow the influx of water.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Woodhead, the team’s senior captain, scored four goals and had four assists in a victory against Alhambra.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The first tropical links course of its kind, the layout boasts pot bunkers and sloping fairways and greens and is a favorite among Tour pros, including the Senior Open champion, Open champion, Ryder Cup captain, and Abaco Club Ambassador Darren Clarke, who calls the club home while not on tour.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
At the center of the tale were an American captain and his ship, the Camargo.
—Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
On the way to a Walmart the captain told Middleton the ship was taking a more circuitous route around the tip of South Africa to avoid the coast of Yemen, where Houthis have been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Both of the ship captains temporarily lost their licenses after the accident.
—Stephen Smith, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2024
Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
Team MacKinnon will be captained by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, with Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar serving as assistant captain and Tate McRae serving as the celebrity captain.
—Mike Brehm, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024
Gobin had reached the pinnacle of U.S. polo in the 1990s and 2000s, captaining national teams and winning international cups.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Royals captain Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin remain as the Royals top catchers.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Teams captained by Quinn Hughes and Auston Matthews will play in the other semifinal, and the winners of the semifinals will meet in the final.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 2 Feb. 2024
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
Noun
Current team captain Becky Sauerbrunn and other current players quickly endorsed Rapinoe’s sentiments.
—Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
Cody is a former Kansas City Police Department captain, who left the agency after 24 years to become chief in Marion earlier this year.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
The ship’s captain blew a distress signal to alert nearby vessels and tried to slow the influx of water.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Woodhead, the team’s senior captain, scored four goals and had four assists in a victory against Alhambra.
—Joseph Dycus, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The first tropical links course of its kind, the layout boasts pot bunkers and sloping fairways and greens and is a favorite among Tour pros, including the Senior Open champion, Open champion, Ryder Cup captain, and Abaco Club Ambassador Darren Clarke, who calls the club home while not on tour.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
At the center of the tale were an American captain and his ship, the Camargo.
—Rafael Vilela, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
On the way to a Walmart the captain told Middleton the ship was taking a more circuitous route around the tip of South Africa to avoid the coast of Yemen, where Houthis have been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea.
—Ray Sanchez, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024
Both of the ship captains temporarily lost their licenses after the accident.
—Stephen Smith, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2024
Verb
The losers were captained by a player who, in this same event last year, acquiesced to calling an inconsequential cell-phone penalty on an opponent, flipping the result of a match his team lost at the table.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 31 Mar. 2024
Team MacKinnon will be captained by Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon, with Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar serving as assistant captain and Tate McRae serving as the celebrity captain.
—Mike Brehm, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024
Gobin had reached the pinnacle of U.S. polo in the 1990s and 2000s, captaining national teams and winning international cups.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024
Royals captain Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin remain as the Royals top catchers.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
Teams captained by Quinn Hughes and Auston Matthews will play in the other semifinal, and the winners of the semifinals will meet in the final.
—Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 2 Feb. 2024
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
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.
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Cite this Entry
“Captain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captain. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
captain
1 of 2 noun
cap·tain
ˈkap-tən 
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
captain
2 of 2 verb
: to be captain of
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