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
- 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.
Senior members of Congress who were shown the video in a briefing last week by that admiral, Frank Bradley, emerged with differing views.
From BBC
The White House has said that a top US Navy admiral, Frank Bradley, authorised the second strike.
From BBC
Republican chairman of the committee, Senator Roger Wicker, said on Monday that the lawmakers are planning to interview the "admiral that was in charge of the operation".
From BBC
He pronounced his name Faw-say, but he was not French; very likely he was no admiral, either.
From Literature
Simon and Penelope suspected that the unreadable diary of the ill-fated trip to Ahwoo-Ahwoo might have described the same voyage taken by Pudge and the admiral, and might even have been written by Pudge himself.
From Literature
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.
