captain noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of captain noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

captain

noun
 
/ˈkæptɪn/
 
/ˈkæptɪn/
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  1. the person in charge of a ship or commercial aircraft
    • Captain Cook
    • The captain gave the order to abandon ship.
    • The captain of the ship invited them to dine at his table.
    • The captain of the plane was already announcing our arrival.
    • Her husband had been a ship's captain.
    • Captain Jones and her co-pilot
    see also sea captainTopics Transport by waterb1, Transport by airb1
  2. an officer of fairly high rank in the navy, the army and the US air force
    • Captain Lance Price
    • She has since been promoted to the rank of captain.
    • Her father had been a captain in the army.
    see also group captainTopics War and conflictb1
  3. the leader of a group of people, especially a sports team
    • She's a former captain of the English national team.
    • He has just been made team captain.
    • The appointment of the former England captain as their new manager is bound to boost morale.
    Topics People in societyb1, Sports: ball and racket sportsb1
  4. an officer of high rank in a US police or fire department
  5. Word Originlate Middle English (in the general sense ‘chief or leader’): from Old French capitain (superseding earlier chevetaigne ‘chieftain’), from late Latin capitaneus ‘chief’, from Latin caput, capit- ‘head’.
See captain in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
aspiration
noun
 
 
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