lieutenant

noun lieu·ten·ant \ lü-ˈte-nənt , British le(f)- \

Definition of lieutenant

1 a :an official empowered to act for a higher official

The king's lieutenant handled the problem.

b :an aide or representative of another in the performance of duty :assistant

Her best lieutenant was working on the proposal.

2 a (1) :first lieutenant

(2) :second lieutenant

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

c :a fire or police department officer ranking below a captain

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Examples of lieutenant in a Sentence

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
She has her best lieutenants working on a proposal.
one of the mobster's most loyal lieutenants

Recent Examples of lieutenant from the Web

Troops led by young sergeants and lieutenants are directly coordinating with civil authorities on the ground with relatively few cues from senior leaders, according to Col.

— alex horton, Washington Post, "‘Formal plans will come later’: Texas Guard troops scramble to rescue civilians in the wake of Hurricane Harvey," 29 Aug. 2017
Trump and top lieutenants like HHS Secretary Tom Price have sent mixed signals.

— ricardo alonso-zaldivar, The Seattle Times, "Former health chiefs to Trump: Avoid new ‘Obamacare’ crisis," 20 Aug. 2017
Meaning all 10 members of Congress, the attorney general, the comptroller, the lieutenant governor, and the governor are all men.

— rebecca nelson, Cosmopolitan, "She Ran "Let Girls Learn." Now She's Running for Governor.," 17 Aug. 2017
However, because Gonzales was serving out a murder sentence at Pelican Bay State Prison, Frogtown gang member Jorge Grey was appointed as his street emissary with Zepeda working as his top lieutenant, according to the indictment.

— andy nguyen, Glendale News-Press, "Glendale man admits to supplying drugs to L.A. gangs under orders from Mexican Mafia," 14 Aug. 2017
Pass the Sentence, Swing the Sword: One of the many (many) mistakes Daenerys made when trying to rule Meereen back in Season 5 was letting her lieutenant and boy toy, Daario, do her dirty execution work for her.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones: 8 Easter Eggs and Callbacks You Might Have Missed in “Eastwatch”," 14 Aug. 2017
However, his top lieutenants are to return to Gaza as early as next week and join those who remained in rebuilding his political organization.

— Washington Post, "Power-sharing deal between former foes taking shape in Gaza," 20 July 2017
Kay Ivey, in her second term as lieutenant governor, was sworn in as the 54th governor of Alabama on April 10, following the resignation of Robert Bentley amid scandal.

— john sharp | jsharp@al.com, AL.com, "Kay Ivey's first 100 days: Notable moments for new Alabama governor," 19 July 2017
Previous Denials The president and his top lieutenants, including Vice President Mike Pence, have previously denied there were any meetings between his campaign and Russians.

— shannon pettypiece, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Jr. Drawn to Russia Meeting on Promise of Clinton Information," 11 July 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of lieutenant

Middle English, from Anglo-French lieu tenant, from liu + tenant holding, from tenir to hold, from Latin tenēre — more at thin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

lieutenant Synonyms

Synonyms

adjunct, adjutant, aid, aide, apprentice, assistant, coadjutor, deputy, helpmate, helpmeet, helper, mate, sidekick

Related Words

attendant, handmaiden (also handmaid), maid, maidservant, scullion, servant; auxiliary, legman, subordinate, underling; employee (also employe), hand, help, hireling, laborer, swamper, worker; gal Friday, girl Friday; man Friday, right hand; aide-de-camp

Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

LIEUTENANT Defined for English Language Learners

lieutenant

noun

Definition of lieutenant for English Language Learners

: an officer in the army, navy, or air force with a fairly low rank
: an officer in a fire or police department who has a rank below a captain
: an assistant to another, more powerful person : a person who represents and works for someone else