officer

[ aw-fuh-ser, of-uh- ]

noun

1. a person who holds a position of rank or authority in the army, navy, air force, or any similar organization, especially one who holds a commission.
2. a member of a police department or a constable.
3. a person licensed to take full or partial responsibility for the operation of a merchant ship or other large civilian ship; a master or mate.
4. a person appointed or elected to some position of responsibility or authority in the government, a corporation, a society, etc.
5. (in some honorary orders) a member of any rank except the lowest.
6. Obsolete. an agent.

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with officers.
2. to command or direct as an officer does.
3. to direct, conduct, or manage.

officer

/ ˈɒfɪsə /

noun

1. a person in the armed services who holds a position of responsibility, authority, and duty, esp one who holds a commission
2. See police officer
3. (on a non-naval ship) any person including the captain and mate, who holds a position of authority and responsibility

   radio officer

   engineer officer

4. a person appointed or elected to a position of responsibility or authority in a government, society, etc
5. a government official

   a customs officer

6. (in the Order of the British Empire) a member of the grade below commander

verb

1. to furnish with officers
2. to act as an officer over (some section, group, organization, etc)

Other Words From

• of·fi·ce·ri·al [aw-f, uh, -, seer, -ee-, uh, l, of-, uh, -], adjective
• offi·cer·less adjective
• offi·cer·ship offi·cer·hood noun
• sub·offi·cer noun
• under·offi·cer noun
• un·offi·cered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of officer¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French; Middle French officier < Medieval Latin officiārius, equivalent to Latin offici ( um ) office + -ārius -ary; -er ², -ier ²

Example Sentences

A police officer could in theory track where a person goes without requiring a search warrant or subpoena through the data collected by automated license plate readers, Maass said.

From Los Angeles Times

And it falls far short of the probity expected of the nation’s highest law enforcement officer.

From Los Angeles Times

According to court documents, Mr Williams, 31, was seen on videos from the Capitol riot, where thousands of pro-Trump activists broke into the building after his 2020 election loss, pulling on barricades and hitting a police officer on the head, and struggling with other officers.

From BBC

Recently, the school announced the hiring of Daniel Cruz as deputy athletics director and chief revenue officer after his previous stints with Disney and Marvel Entertainment.

From Los Angeles Times

But every senior military officer also takes an oath to defend the Constitution, and pledges to refuse illegal, unconstitutional or criminal directives.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• agent
• chief
• civil servant
• deputy
• director
• executive
• leader
• manager
• official
• representative