warrant officer

noun

1

: an officer in the armed forces holding rank by virtue of a warrant and ranking above a noncommissioned officer and below a commissioned officer

2

: a commissioned officer ranking below an ensign in the navy or coast guard and below a second lieutenant in the marine corps

Examples of warrant officer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Among the missing are two mayors, two warrant officers and nine soldiers. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025

Lady Ghika will step forward to present the shamrock to officers and warrant officers, who will in turn issue it along the ranks. — Simon Perry, Peoplemag, 15 Mar. 2024

Officials said the service may later open the 49B pathway to warrant officers. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Jan. 2026

That’s resulted in a spike in junior warrant officers, who now make up double the share of Army pilots compared to 2016. — Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 4 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

warrant officer

noun

: a military or naval officer with any of the ranks between those of commissioned officers and those of noncommissioned officers

especially : a warrant officer of lowest rank