captain
Pluralcaptains
Verbcaptains, captaining, captained
Pluralcaptains
Formscaptains, captaining, captained
- 1The person with legal authority over a ship or other vessel; its master.
The captain has final authority over every decision made aboard the vessel.
After thirty years at sea, she earned her place as captain of a container ship.
UsageOften the captain of a ship. As a title before a name it takes a capital: Captain Cook.
- 2A member of a sports team chosen to make decisions and to speak for the team with the referee or officials.
The captain argued the call with the referee while her teammates waited.
Before kickoff, the two captains shook hands with the referee at midfield.
UsageOften captain of a team. Before a name it can work as a label with no article: captain John Terry.
- 3An army officer who outranks every grade of lieutenant but is junior to a major.
A captain typically commands a company of soldiers in the field.
The young army captain was put in charge of a company of about a hundred and twenty soldiers.
- 4The leader of a group, a crew of workers, or an undertaking.
She emerged as the natural captain of the expedition, settling disputes and setting the pace.
Without a clear captain, the group of volunteers struggled to organize.
UsageCommon in captain of industry, a powerful business leader.
Similarleader, head, chief, commander
Note
The widest sense, and the one the word's history explains. It comes from Latin caput, "head," by way of Late Latin capitaneus and Old French capitaine, so a captain is the one at the head. William Tyndale's New Testament of 1526 uses it for a ruler of Israel. English borrowed a related French form, chevetaine, as chieftain.
- 5
- 6A naval officer ranking above a commander and below a commodore or rear admiral, equal to an army colonel; also the same rank in the US Coast Guard and similar services.
A naval captain often commands a large warship or a shore establishment.
She was the first woman in her fleet promoted to captain.
Note
At sea the word names a far higher rank than the army captain. A naval captain sits above commander and just below commodore or rear admiral, depending on the navy, while an army captain sits below major. In the US services the naval grade ranks with an army colonel. The two captains are therefore several grades apart, and a reader should check which service is meant before comparing them.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- A naval captain ranks above commander. en.wikipedia.org
- The next rank depends on the navy: commodore in the Royal Navy, but rear admiral (lower half) in the US Navy. navy.com
- An army captain ranks below major. en.wikipedia.org
- A US naval captain ranks with an army colonel. en.wikipedia.org
- Naval captain is several grades higher than army captain; the US equivalence places it three promotion steps higher. army.mil
- 7The pilot who has command of an aircraft and the flight, most typically on a commercial airliner.
The captain switched on the seat-belt sign as the jet hit turbulence over the mountains.
Before takeoff, the captain and the first officer worked through the checklist together in the cockpit.
Similarpilot
- 8A police or fire officer, chiefly in US and Canadian departments, whose rank usually sits just above lieutenant and who often commands a precinct or a fire company.
The captain of the local police precinct met with neighborhood leaders to discuss the recent rise in car thefts.
After twelve years with the department, she was promoted from lieutenant to captain and given command of Engine Company 9.
Note
The rank ladder here follows the army's: as with the army officer, captain is the step just above lieutenant. In the US Navy, by contrast, the naval captain ranks with an army colonel, so the title alone says little about seniority. Naming the service first, police captain or fire captain, tells the listener which ladder is meant.
Less common meanings
- 9The senior student chosen to lead and represent the student body of a school; the head boy or head girl.
As school captain, he represented the students at official events.
Elected by students and teachers alike, the school captain spoke for the whole student body at graduation.
- 10A headwaiter or maître d' who oversees service in a restaurant.
The captain greeted each guest at the door and managed the seating.
Our captain described the evening's specials before the server arrived.
Similarheadwaiter
Note
A front-of-house title in restaurants and hotels, held by the person in charge of the waiters. The Eagles song "Hotel California" (1976) uses it as a title, with the singer summoning the Captain to order wine. Outside a dining room the word suggests ships, so context has to make this sense clear.
- 11An honorific title given to a prominent person.
Showing meanings only.
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Origin
From Middle English capitain, borrowed from Old French capitaine, which came from Late Latin capitāneus, ultimately from Latin caput ("head"), probably the same source as English cap. It is a doublet of chieftain, which also came through Old French.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- English captain derives from Middle English capitain. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English capitain was borrowed from Old French capitaine. en.wiktionary.org
- Old French capitaine derives from Late Latin capitāneus. en.wiktionary.org
- The ultimate Latin source is caput, meaning “head”. en.wiktionary.org
- Captain and chieftain are doublets, and chieftain also entered through Old French. en.wiktionary.org