lieutenant

[ loo-ten-uhnt; in British use, except in the navy, lef-ten-uhnt ]

noun

1. Military.
   1. first lieutenant.
   2. second lieutenant.
2. U.S. Navy. a commissioned officer ranking between lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant commander.
3. a person who holds an office, civil or military, in subordination to a superior they act for:

   If he can't attend, he will send his lieutenant.

lieutenant

/ luːˈtɛnənt; lɛfˈtɛnənt /

noun

1. a military officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a captain
2. a naval officer holding commissioned rank immediately junior to a lieutenant commander
3. an officer in a police or fire department ranking immediately junior to a captain
4. a person who holds an office in subordination to or in place of a superior

Derived Forms

• lieuˈtenancy, noun

Other Words From

• un·der·lieu·ten·ant noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lieutenant¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English from Middle French, noun use of adjective phrase lieu tenant “place-holding”; locum tenens, lieu, tenant

Word History and Origins

Origin of lieutenant¹

C14: from Old French, literally: place-holding

Example Sentences

The allegations detailed by her and two other detainees in that filing also involved a lieutenant who detainees said was promoted even after women complained.

From ProPublica

Giannandrea does not have a clear top lieutenant, so if he were to depart Apple, it’s unclear who would replace him or if Apple would fold the unit back into the Software Engineering department.

From Fortune

Maybe, she thought, the governor and lieutenant governor planned to offer her a job within state government.

From ProPublica

As lieutenant governor, Mallott still lived in Juneau and had long used the luxury hotel for extended stays and as a second office while in Anchorage, friends said.

From ProPublica

Afterward, Mallott’s emergency replacement as lieutenant governor, Davidson, gave the keynote address.

From ProPublica

He was a young Army Air Force lieutenant whose plane crashed in the Pacific in May 1943.

From The Daily Beast

Neary had held the rank of lieutenant since 1983 and received multiple commendations during nearly four decades on the job.

From The Daily Beast

Why has Michael Bloomberg replaced his longtime lieutenant with the editor-in-chief of The Economist?

From The Daily Beast

In 2010, he finished second with 39 percent in the race for lieutenant governor.

From The Daily Beast

He ran on a serious one-issue platform: eliminate the office of lieutenant governor.

From The Daily Beast

At the end of the campaign the Emperor justly rewarded his lieutenant by creating him Prince of Wagram.

From Project Gutenberg

He was a member of the first provincial congress, and eighteen years lieutenant governor of the state of New York.

From Project Gutenberg

The tailor of the fairy tale with his "seven at a blow" is not in it with the gunnery Lieutenant of a battleship.

From Project Gutenberg

The Lieutenant rode off highly elated over the fact that Colonel Guitar agreed with his views.

From Project Gutenberg

"I guess that is straight enough for Guitar to believe, instead of that upstart lieutenant," said Harry.

From Project Gutenberg