2nd lieutenant
1
7.0
- noun
- /ˈsɛkənd luˈtɛnənt/
- During the ceremony, the commanding officer promoted him to 2nd lieutenant as a recognition of his hard work.
Examples
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I wanted to wake the primary crew, but my 2nd lieutenant was already over the edge.
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Our 2nd lieutenant must have come through here.
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The new recruit was excited to serve as a 2nd lieutenant in the Army after graduating from officer training.
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As a 2nd lieutenant, she was responsible for leading her squad in training exercises and missions.
Synonyms
199
8.2
A junior officer in the navy or coast guard who holds the lowest officer rank
12
6.0
A junior officer with the lowest rank in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps
1
9.9
A young officer with the lowest rank in the U.S. military
1
9.9
A junior army officer below captain, often in the infantry
1
9.6
A junior officer in the navy or other military force who ranks below a lieutenant
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term combines the ordinal '2nd' (second in sequence) with the rank noun 'lieutenant', so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes the lieutenant of second rank. This compositional rank-naming pattern is regular and cross-linguistically common, so the overall meaning is directly derivable from the parts.
Etymology
2Nd lieutenant comes from the idea of being the 'second' officer who can 'stand in for' a leader. The word lieutenant meant someone who takes another person's place, so a 2nd lieutenant was the junior officer who helped the captain, and today it means the lowest officer who begins to lead soldiers.