1
as in supervising
to be in charge of
if you do well on this, you'll be asked to captain the next mission
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in governing
to exercise authority or power over
captained the project for a few days while the boss was out of town
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in leading
to serve as leader of
you did a good job of captaining the team
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of captaining
Co-captaining the Time Bandit, the veteran fishermen kicked off a modern-day gold rush — but the race for the rare crab took a dangerous turn when chaos erupted aboard the Titan Explorer and forced Captain Jake Anderson’s crew to abandon ship.
—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025
From being seen as a rugby reject to captaining an NFL team and winning a Super Bowl, Mailata’s story is proof that with dedication and hard work, international athletes can reach the pinnacle of American football.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Around the same time, Emily Bode’s father was captaining his high school football team, which inspired her to choose the silhouette for the collaboration and heavily influenced the retro aesthetic of the marketing.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025
From being seen as a rugby reject to captaining an NFL team and winning a Super Bowl, Mailata’s story is proof that with dedication and hard work, international athletes can reach the pinnacle of American football.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Around the same time, Emily Bode’s father was captaining his high school football team, which inspired her to choose the silhouette for the collaboration and heavily influenced the retro aesthetic of the marketing.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captaining
Verb
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But the challenge is all the more pronounced when you’re supposed to be supervising a safe place for kids to play.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
25 Aug. 2025
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The city of Newport is not directly supervising the removal.—
Grace Tucker,
The Enquirer,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Republicans departed Washington promising to make changes to the Senate rules governing how nominees are confirmed despite objections from Democrats.—
Lauren Peller,
ABC News,
2 Sep. 2025
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Getty Images European football governing body UEFA has granted FC Barcelona special permission to switch its home venue half way through the Champions League’s 2025/2026 league phase according to RAC1, which cited anonymous sources.—
Tom Sanderson,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The signs, in Lukas' iconic green and white, hang on the wood posts leading into the gap where horses enter and exit the track for training.—
Stephanie Kuzydym,
The Courier-Journal,
3 Sep. 2025
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His condition went unaddressed during nearly four months in Eloy Detention Center, and three leading infectious disease public health researchers said opportunities to save his life were missed.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instead, chairman Jeff Shi essentially led a broader team of staff in overseeing transfers.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
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Da Empoli’s 2022 novel bases Baranov on Putin’s real-life former aide and fixer Vladislav Surkov, whose purview included overseeing Russia’s relationship with Ukraine; he was dismissed from his post in February 2020, two years before Russia invaded Ukraine.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The ruling party won more than twice as many votes as its closest competitor, meaning the government can see through its pro-fossil fuel agenda.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Millennials are currently ruling the tech industry and clinging to their roles as the economy is rocked by uncertainty due to tariffs, inflation increases living expenses, and AI swipes jobs.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That’s because, even though TSMC and Samsung are major chip manufacturing leaders, the US still holds commanding positions in chip design and related software, exemplified by Nvidia’s dominance in AI chips.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
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Lippold was commanding the USS Cole when al-Qaida attacked it in a Yemeni port in 2000.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Best Friend Forever is handling world sales.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
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Anton is handling worldwide rights and co-repping North American rights with UTA Independent Film Group and Cinetic.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Despite daunting market conditions, America’s youngest generation of adults is managing to break into the housing market in growing numbers.—
Sara Chernikoff,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
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Fire containment Containment is part of a larger plan for managing a wildfire.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captaining. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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