Captain


a person who is at the head of or in authority over others; chief; leader.
an officer ranking in most armies above a first lieutenant and below a major.
an officer in the U.S. Navy ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral or a commodore.
a military leader.
an officer in the police department, ranking above a lieutenant and usually below an inspector.
an officer of the fire department, usually in command of a company, ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief or assistant chief.
the commander of a merchant vessel.
Compare staff captain.
the pilot of an airplane.
a local official in a political party responsible for organizing votes on a ward or precinct level.
Sports. the field leader of a team:
The captain of the home team elected to receive on the kickoff.
a person of great power and influence, especially based on economic wealth.
headwaiter.
bell captain.
South Midland and Southern U.S. an unofficial title of respect for a man (sometimes used humorously or ironically).
to lead or command as a captain.
Contemporary Examples

South Korea’s Ferry Disaster Gives Us a New Cowardly Captain to Hate Barbie Latza Nadeau April 21, 2014
Hollywood’s War on Drones Andrew Romano May 22, 2014
Who Gagged the Search for MH370? Clive Irving June 21, 2014
San Francisco Plane Crash: The Pilots’ Warning Clive Irving July 7, 2013
Costa Concordia’s Captain’s Culpability in Crash and Deaths Weighed by Judge Barbie Latza Nadeau October 15, 2012

Historical Examples

In the Orbit of Saturn Roman Frederick Starzl
Brave and Bold Horatio Alger
Glory of Youth Temple Bailey
Explorations in Australia John Forrest
Sir Ludar Talbot Baines Reed

noun
the person in charge of and responsible for a vessel
an officer of the navy who holds a rank junior to a rear admiral but senior to a commander
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
the officer in command of a civil aircraft, usually the senior pilot
the leader of a team in games
a person in command over a group, organization, etc; leader: a captain of industry
(US) a police officer in charge of a precinct
(US & Canadian) (formerly) a head waiter
(US & Canadian) Also called bell captain. a supervisor of bellboys in a hotel
(Austral, informal) a person who is buying drinks for people in a bar
verb
(transitive) to be captain of
n.
v.

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