admiral

[ ad-mer-uhl ]

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

/ ˈædmərəl /

noun

1. the supreme commander of a fleet or navy
2. Also calledadmiral of the fleetfleet 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

Derived Forms

• ˈadmiralˌship, noun

Other Words From

• admi·ral·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of admiral¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of admiral¹

C13: amyral, from Old French amiral emir, and from Medieval Latin admīrālis (the spelling with d probably influenced by admīrābilis admirable); both from Arabic amīr emir, commander, esp in the phrase amīr-al commander of, as in amīr-al-bahr commander of the sea

Example Sentences

“Any general that was involved, any general, admiral, whatever, that was involved in any of the DEI/woke s— has got to go.”

From Los Angeles Times

Francis provided investigators with detailed information on hundreds of sailors, from petty officers to admirals.

From BBC

New Zealand’s defence minister has criticised "armchair admirals" for suggesting that a female captain’s gender was to blame for the sinking of one of the nation's naval ships.

From BBC

The admiral said that a number of measures were being taken to address what he has called “appalling behaviours” against women – who make up just over 10% of the service.

From BBC

The rear admiral of the Coast Guard said in a 2021 congressional hearing that in weighing new rules, it is required to consider the economic costs and benefits of implementation.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• board
• bureau
• cabinet
• committee
• department
• executive
• legislature
• management
• ministry
• presidency