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
Pat Rafter, who is assisting tennis legend and former Bay Area resident Andre Agassi in captaining Team World, certainly knows his squad is facing quite a challenge in trying to stop Alcaraz.
—
Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
The youth-team graduate has been a big part of Athletic’s successes in recent years under coach Ernesto Valverde, even captaining the team on occasion from the back.
—Colin Millar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
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
Jim Harrington, Mercury News, 19 Sep. 2025
The youth-team graduate has been a big part of Athletic’s successes in recent years under coach Ernesto Valverde, even captaining the team on occasion from the back.
—Colin Millar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captaining
Verb
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Jordan and Egypt are expected to take the leading role in training and supervising the new police force.—
Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
12 Oct. 2025
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The network also recently hired an ombudsperson—someone with no experience supervising a newsroom and a background leading the right-wing Hudson Institute think tank—to assess complaints of biased programming.—
Time,
Time,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Other places with strict naming laws New Zealand is not alone in having strict rules governing official names.—
Laura Sharman,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
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One challenge in terms of setting up local versions is that the rules governing how brands and advertisers can work with broadcasters differ from one country to the next.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The conversation will celebrate O’Brien’s career as one of the leading minds in contemporary comedy.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
14 Oct. 2025
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But being effective at your job isn’t the same as being effective at leading people.—
Johnny C. Taylor Jr,
USA Today,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In an email, the office referred The Star to the National Archives and Records Administration, which is responsible for overseeing the presidential libraries system.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
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On Thursday, Hesselbein noted the Senate's committee overseeing colleges and universities hasn't held a public hearing on any legislation this session.—
Molly Beck,
jsonline.com,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The ruling party, Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, controls the legislature with 94 of 100 seats at the senate and 152 of 180 at the national assembly.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
12 Oct. 2025
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The staunch conservative and longtime lawmaker won Japan’s ruling party’s presidency on October 4, becoming the first woman ever to secure the post, after her third attempt.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Dodgers’ 3-1 victory in Game 3 gave them a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
17 Oct. 2025
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Al-Muhtadi, is accused of being a member of Hamas and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine's armed wing, the National Resistance Brigades (NRB), and commanding or coordinating NRB fighters who joined Hamas units for the incursion, the affidavit reads.—
Greg Norman , Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Oct. 2025
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Don Lisi, Rogers Police Department spokesman, said police investigate cases involving virtual currency scams on a regular basis, and the department is currently handling a couple of such cases.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Taking over for Brady after his retirement following the 2022 season, was Mayfield, who is off to the best start of his NFL career through six games even while managing without several key offensive weapons.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
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Most of those who shaped or even marginally influenced the events of October 7th are gone, leaving Gaza’s authority withered to the point that even managing the hostages has become paralyzingly difficult.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captaining. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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