flag officer

noun

: any of the officers in the navy or coast guard above captain compare general officer

Examples of flag officer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The flag officers stayed almost completely silent as Hegseth spoke about culture war issues mentioned in his book The War on Warriors. — Quil Lawrence, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to announce deeper cuts to the military’s top ranks, reducing the total number of positions for general and flag officers by as much as 20 percent, officials told The Washington Post on Tuesday. — Tara Copp, Washington Post, 29 Sep. 2026

Since taking over a year ago, Hegseth has fired top generals and flag officers and vowed to empower the trigger-pullers. — Missy Ryan, The Atlantic, 2 Feb. 2026

After the speech, a general who was in the audience and requested anonymity to speak frankly, said she was struck by the professional stoicism of her roughly 800 fellow flag officers. — Anna Mulrine Grobe, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from such officers being entitled to display a flag with one or more stars indicating rank

First Known Use

1665, in the meaning defined above