admiral
Americannoun
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admirals
plural
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the commander in chief of a fleet.
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a naval officer of the highest rank.
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a naval officer of a high rank: the grades in the U.S. Navy are fleet admiral, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear admiral.
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Obsolete. the flagship of an admiral.
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British. a master who directs a fishing fleet.
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any of several often brightly colored butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, as Vanessa atalanta red admiral.
noun
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the supreme commander of a fleet or navy
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Also called: admiral of the fleet. fleet admiral. a naval officer of the highest rank, equivalent to general of the army or field marshal
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a senior naval officer entitled to fly his own flag See also rear admiral vice admiral
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the master of a fishing fleet
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any of various nymphalid butterflies, esp the red admiral or white admiral
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of admiral
1175–1225; Middle English, variant of amiral < Old French < Arabic amīr al commander of the; -d- < Medieval Latin admīrābilis mundī for Arabic amīr al-mu'minīn commander of the faithful; or with replacement of a- 5 by ad-, as in administer
Explanation
An admiral is the commander of a fleet. In the navy, admiral is one of the highest ranks. The military is full of rankings, such as captain, private, major, and corporal. Another is admiral, a ranking specific to the navy. While a captain is in charge of one ship, an admiral leads more than one ship: a bunch of ships, which are called a fleet. There are also a few different types of admirals, such as full admiral and vice admiral. Similarly, Battlestar Galactica’s Commander Adama becomes Admiral Adama as a result of leading more than one ship.
Vocabulary lists containing admiral
English Words Derived from Arabic
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
According to myth, Hedberg will be the first of his class to become an admiral.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
Navy rear admiral told the BBC Radio4’s Today program that clearing the mines could take “weeks to months.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
The last time the Navy promoted a woman from captain to rear admiral was in June 2025, according to an analysis by Task and Purpose, a military-focused publication.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
American forces, an admiral said, “have cleared an effective pathway for ships to leave at this point.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
“Didn’t your father tell you? It was your admiral grandpa who got the whole mess started, after all.”
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
The changing-of-command ceremony was memorable, including 17-gun salutes for each of the outgoing and incoming admirals and a 19-gun salute for my new friend, the CNO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The two young admirals, many assert, enjoyed meteoric career rises thanks to family patronage: They are nephews of a former secretary of the navy, José Rafael Ojeda Durán.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
One of Britain’s admirals described it as “the most bold and daring act of the age.”
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
The Pentagon chief has defended the approach, noting that civilian leaders are granted the authority to choose which admirals or generals advise them on military matters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
“That was a secret bugle call that only admirals are allowed to hear.”
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
