admiral
Americannoun
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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
The United States shot down multiple Iranian missiles and drones fired at US Navy and commercial vessels and destroyed six of Tehran's small boats, a top US admiral said on Monday.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
“The admiral and his balloon will take you to England,” Mater Lumley said gently.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
To promote his call for a separate air force, Mitchell exaggerated the outcome—including the apocryphal claim that admirals witnessing the demonstration “wept aloud” as the target went under.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 1, 2026
One of the admirals replied that it might look good, but it wouldn’t last five minutes in a battle at sea.
From Slate ● Dec. 23, 2025
Trump hinted at the plans when addressing generals and admirals gathered in Virginia last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
That quote comes from the Marines’ official website, not the speech Pete Hegseth inflicted on the generals, admirals and senior enlisted personnel he called to Quantico, Virginia, on Sept. 30.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2025
Still, hadn’t those admirals back at Sayda Bay told him not to let his cheek be slapped?
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
