# captain

Pronunciation: US/AUS say "KAP-tuhn" /ˈkæp.tən/; UK say "KAP-tin" /ˈkæp.tɪn/

## Noun

1. The person with legal authority over a ship or other vessel; its master.
   - Simple: The person who is in charge of a ship and its crew.
   - _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._
2. A member of a sports team chosen to make decisions and to speak for the team with the referee or officials.
   - Simple: A player chosen to lead a sports team and speak for it to the referee.
   - _The captain argued the call with the referee while her teammates waited._
   - _Before kickoff, the two captains shook hands with the referee at midfield._
3. An army officer who outranks every grade of lieutenant but is junior to a major.
   - Simple: An army officer ranked above a lieutenant and below 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._
4. The leader of a group, a crew of workers, or an undertaking.
   - Simple: A person who leads a group of people or directs their work.
   - _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._
6. A 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.
   - Simple: An officer in the navy who is above a commander and usually commands a large ship.
   - _A naval captain often commands a large warship or a shore establishment._
   - _She was the first woman in her fleet promoted to captain._
9. The senior student chosen to lead and represent the student body of a school; the head boy or head girl.
   - Simple: The top student leader at a school.
   - _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._
10. A headwaiter or maître d' who oversees service in a restaurant.
   - Simple: The head waiter in charge of part of 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._
7. The pilot who has command of an aircraft and the flight, most typically on a commercial airliner.
   - Simple: The pilot who is in charge of a plane, especially a big passenger plane.
   - _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._
8. A 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.
   - Simple: A police or fire officer, mainly in the US and Canada, who usually ranks above a lieutenant and often runs a station.
   - _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._

## Verb

5. To be the captain of a ship, aircraft, or sports team; to lead or command.
   - Simple: To be the leader of a team, or the person in charge of a ship or plane.
   - _He captained the destroyer through the blockade._
   - _Few people get the chance to captain a vessel that size._

## Other meanings

- (noun) An honorific title given to a prominent person.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/captain (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).