ensign

noun en·sign \ ˈen(t)-sən also ˈen-ˌsīn for senses 1, 2, & 3a \

|Updated on: 4 Jun 2018

Definition of ensign

1 : a flag that is flown (as by a ship) as the symbol of nationality and that may also be flown with a distinctive badge added to its design

2 a : a badge of office, rank, or power

b : emblem, sign

3 a : an infantry officer of what was formerly the lowest commissioned rank

b : a commissioned officer in the navy or coast guard ranking above a chief warrant officer and below a lieutenant junior grade

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Examples of ensign in a Sentence

that ensign of tutorial authority, the hickory stick
fittingly, the organization promoting the welfare of marine life features a dolphin on its ensign

Recent Examples of ensign from the Web

The graduates receive commissions as Navy ensigns or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps and serve at least five years.

— jeff barker, baltimoresun.com, "President Trump at Naval Academy graduation: 'We are not going to apologize for America'," 25 May 2018
Courtesy of Michael Rosenberg Back then, for 18 long months at sea, the ensign didn't see a single woman.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "World War II vets embark on their last mission — a whirlwind trip to Washington | Miami Herald," 13 Apr. 2018
Navy ensign Stanley Rosenberg, 93, recalls his crew pushing the wreckage into the ocean somewhere near the Philippines.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "World War II vets embark on their last mission — a whirlwind trip to Washington | Miami Herald," 13 Apr. 2018
Bolivian officials say the Bolivian navy's ensign held by participants along a highway on Saturday is the world's biggest — or at least longest — flag.

— Washington Post, "World digest: March 10, 2018," 10 Mar. 2018
However, the nightgown wasn't returned to the ensign.

— brian albrecht, cleveland.com, "Cleveland native Tom Lange recalls daunting Iwo Jima invasion and near misses (photos, video)," 22 Jan. 2018
The ensign's toxic attitude infected Allen, who emulated his antisocial existence.

— Anchorage Daily News, "In ‘A Wretched and Precarious Situation,’ a mission to a continent that didn’t exist," 7 Jan. 2018
In December 2017, Schlesinger wrote about his experience with Trail for CBS: Jeff Trail was an ensign and a Gulf War veteran.

— julie kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "That Jeff Trail 48 Hours Interview on The Assassination of Gianni Versace Really Happened," 15 Feb. 2018
Lange became an apprentice seaman, then a midshipman at Columbia University, then an ensign assigned to one of the LSMs being built for the Allied offensive in the Pacific.

— brian albrecht, cleveland.com, "Cleveland native Tom Lange recalls daunting Iwo Jima invasion and near misses (photos, video)," 22 Jan. 2018

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