captain

Meaning

Noun

1. A chief or leader.
2. The person lawfully in command of a ship or other vessel.
3. An army officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major.
4. A naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore.
5. A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a commander and junior to a rear admiral (lower half). A captain is equal in grade or rank to a United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force colonel.
6. One of the athletes on a sports team who is designated to make decisions, and is allowed to speak for his team with a referee or official.
7. The leader of a group of workers.
8. The head boy of a school.
9. A maître d', a headwaiter.
10. (Southern-US) An honorific title given to a prominent person. See colonel.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To act as captain
2. (transitive) To exercise command of a ship, aircraft or sports team.

Synonyms

leader

head

skipper

commander

chief

master

director

supervisor

boss

maitre d’

colonel

sea captain

headwaiter

ruler

police captain

lord

maitre d’hotel

general

senior pilot

chieftain

commander in chief

dictator

pilot

🧑‍✈️

chairperson

shipmaster

headman

police chief

commandant

administrator

commander-in-chief

supt.

air force

butler

chairman

commanding officer

field officer

gentleman

🤵‍♂️

guide

headmost

higher-up

lieutenant

manager

marshal

navigator

officer

principal

privateer

seneschal

soldier

squadron-leader

Translations

capitaine

capitán

capitano

capitão

Kapitän

kapitein

capità

Hauptmann

capitaine de vaisseau

λοχαγός

kaptan

πλοίαρχος

καπετάνιος

αρχηγός

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈkæp.tɪn/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: capitain

In summary

From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.
Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French.