1
a(1)
: a military leader : the commander of a unit or a body of troops
(2)
: a subordinate officer commanding under a sovereign or general
(3)
: a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a first lieutenant and below a major
b(1)
: a naval officer who is master or commander of a ship
(2)
: a commissioned officer in the navy ranking above a commander and below a commodore and in the coast guard ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral
c
: a senior pilot who commands the crew of an airplane
d
: an officer in a police department or fire department in charge of a unit (such as a precinct or company) and usually ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief
2
: one who leads or supervises: such as
a
: a leader of a sports team or side
b
c
: a person in charge of hotel bellhops
called also bell captain
3
: a person of importance or influence in a field
captains of industry
Synonyms
Examples of captain in a Sentence
Noun
The captain has turned off the “fasten seat belt” sign.
the captain is responsible for everything that happens to his ship in the course of a voyage
Verb
The ship was captained by John Smith.
She captained last year's team.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jennifer Maas, Variety, 23 Sep. 2024
Europe’s victory rounded off a successful campaign for team captain Björn Borg, who, along with World captain John McEnroe, will step down from Laver Cup duties having led their teams since the inaugural competition in 2017.
—George Ramsay, CNN, 23 Sep. 2024
David Ferrini, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
The Terps alumna will captain Team Germany in Paris.
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for captain 
Noun
Talk to your captain or shop leader — or better yet, become one.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 23 Sep. 2024
Europe’s victory rounded off a successful campaign for team captain Björn Borg, who, along with World captain John McEnroe, will step down from Laver Cup duties having led their teams since the inaugural competition in 2017.
—George Ramsay, CNN, 23 Sep. 2024
Verb
Undoubtedly, these words resonated with Di Lorenzo, who captained Napoli to their historic third Serie A title under Spalletti's guidance.
—David Ferrini, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024
The Terps alumna will captain Team Germany in Paris.
—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for captain
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'captain.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Captain.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/captain. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
captain
1 of 2 noun
cap·tain
ˈkap-tən 
1
a
: the commanding officer of a military unit
b
: a military commissioned officer with a rank just below that of major
2
a
: the commanding officer of a ship
b
: a naval commissioned officer with a rank just below that of commodore
3
: a fire or police department officer with a rank usually between that of chief and lieutenant
4
a
: the leader of a team or side
b
: a person in charge of several waiters in a restaurant
captain
2 of 2 verb
: to be captain of
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