lieutenant general

noun

: a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps who ranks above a major general and whose insignia is three stars

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web In 2012, a Russian Air Force lieutenant general suggested that Russia could deploy an uninhabited nuclear bomber by the 2040s. Jeremy Hsu, Discover Magazine, 1 July 2017 The former lieutenant general Michael Flynn, briefly Trump’s national security adviser, had pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador to the US. Fintan O’toole, The New York Review of Books, 21 Dec. 2022 In March 1864, Lincoln appointed Grant to the rank of lieutenant general and ordered him to take on the Confederate Army in Virginia, a task at which numerous other Union leaders had failed. Anne Marshall, The Conversation, 5 Dec. 2022 The monument, located at a busy intersection in the city that once served as the capital of the Confederacy, honored Ambrose P. Hill, a Confederate lieutenant general. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022 Loretta Reynolds, a retired 3-star lieutenant general in the U.S. Marines Corps, became a director for U.S. Bancorp. Lila Maclellan, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2022 In addition to the mass shooting by a soldier in February 2020, a police lieutenant general opened fire in a military school in Bangkok last month, killing two people. Hannah Beech, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Oct. 2022 In a statement announcing his replacement as land forces commander, the Ugandan military said Kainerugaba had been promoted from lieutenant general to full general and would remain a senior presidential adviser for special operations. Nimi Princewill, CNN, 6 Oct. 2022 Donahue, who has since been promoted to lieutenant general, did not respond to a request for comment sent to Fort Bragg. Seth Harp, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2022 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

1589, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lieutenant general was in 1589

Dictionary Entries Near lieutenant general

Cite this Entry

“Lieutenant general.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lieutenant%20general. Accessed 28 Mar. 2023.

Kids Definition

lieutenant general

noun
: a military commissioned officer with a rank just below that of general

More from Merriam-Webster on lieutenant general

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