Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

admiral

American  
[ad-mer-uhl] / ˈæd mər əl /

noun

  1. the commander in chief of a fleet.

  2. a naval officer of the highest rank.

  3. a naval officer of a high rank: the grades in the U.S. Navy are fleet admiral, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear admiral.

  4. Obsolete. the flagship of an admiral.

  5. British. a master who directs a fishing fleet.

  6. any of several often brightly colored butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, as Vanessa atalanta red admiral.

admiral British  
/ ˈædmərəl /

noun

  1. the supreme commander of a fleet or navy

  2. Also called: admiral of the fleet.   fleet admiral.  a naval officer of the highest rank, equivalent to general of the army or field marshal

  3. a senior naval officer entitled to fly his own flag See also rear admiral vice admiral

  4. the master of a fishing fleet

  5. any of various nymphalid butterflies, esp the red admiral or white admiral

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • admiralship noun

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

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.

Carrier deployments during peacetime are typically six months long, with planners allowing for a few months of potential overrun if needed, said Mark Montgomery, a retired rear admiral.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 21, 2026

When Robert Duvall was floundering around in college, his father, a career Navy man who retired with the rank of rear admiral, told him to shape up — and start acting.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

While many would have been shocked to see a retired teacher posing as a fake admiral at a Remembrance Sunday ceremony, for a secretive group of ex-services personnel it was unsurprising.

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

The frigate Kimon is named after a 5th century BCE Athenian admiral, who was the son of the victorious general at the Battle of Marathon, Miltiadis.

From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026

The admiral held her chair for her and kept his voice low so only she could hear.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

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.