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⇱ captain - WordReference.com Dictionary of English


captain

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈkæptɪn/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈkæptən/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(kaptən, -tin)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cap•tain /ˈkæptən/USA pronunciation   n. 
    [countable]
  1. a person in authority over others:She was the captain of the field hockey team.
  2. Militaryan officer in the army above a first lieutenant or in the navy above a commander:the first female captain in the army.
  3. Militaryan officer of any rank who commands a military vessel or pilots an airplane:Captain, should we set a new course?
  4. a person of great power and influence, esp. based on wealth:captains of industry.

v. [ + obj]
  1. to lead as a captain:He captained the team victories.
cap•tain•cy /ˈkæptənsi/USA pronunciation  n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
cap•tain  (kaptən, -tin),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. a person who is at the head of or in authority over others;
    chief;
    leader.
  2. Militaryan officer ranking in most armies above a first lieutenant and below a major.
  3. Militaryan officer in the U.S. Navy ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral or a commodore.
  4. Militarya military leader.
  5. an officer in the police department, ranking above a lieutenant and usually below an inspector.
  6. an officer of the fire department, usually in command of a company, ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief or assistant chief.
  7. Militarythe commander of a merchant vessel. Cf. staff captain. 
  8. the pilot of an airplane.
  9. Governmenta local official in a political party responsible for organizing votes on a ward or precinct level.
  10. Sportthe field leader of a team:The captain of the home team elected to receive on the kickoff.
  11. a person of great power and influence, esp. based on economic wealth.
  12. headwaiter.
  13. See bell captain. 
  14. Dialect Terms[South Midland and Southern U.S.]an unofficial title of respect for a man (sometimes used humorously or ironically).

v.t. 
  1. to lead or command as a captain.
  • Late Latin capitāneus chief, equivalent. to capit- (stem of caput) head + -ān(us) -an + -eus -eous
  • Anglo-French capitain, captayn
  • Middle English capitain 1325–75

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
captain /ˈkæptɪn/ n
  1. the person in charge of and responsible for a vessel
  2. an officer of the navy who holds a rank junior to a rear admiral but senior to a commander
  3. an officer of the army, certain air forces, and the marine corps who holds a rank junior to a major but senior to a lieutenant
  4. the officer in command of a civil aircraft, usually the senior pilot
  5. the leader of a team in games
  6. a person in command over a group, organization, etc; leader: a captain of industry
  7. US a police officer in charge of a precinct
vb
  1. (transitive) to be captain of
Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus chief, from Latin caput headˈcaptaincy, ˈcaptainˌship n
'captain' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: the [team, ship, vice, squadron, plane, class] captain, the captain of the [team], the first [female, teenage] captain of, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "captain" in the title:

'led a ship' vs 'ship captain'
(the) captain
(the) captain of the team
(The) Colonel should be inside, Captain.
a crew of...plus the captain
a sea captain
Article with a job title + name [the Captain Jack]
as captain or as a captain
At last in strode the captain
At that point Karl fixed the captain as hard as he could
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Both goals being scored by defender and captain Mario Yepes
capitan or captain
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captain caveman crank it in the corner
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Captain Cook
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Captain Jack—no—it's the other Crawford
Captain Lee (b. 1945)
captain maintained boat
captain of or the captain of
captain of the second division head
captain of the ship
Captain Savahoe?
Captain’s table
class boss, class head, class captain, class leader, school president, class president
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