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lieutenant

lieutenant

124 5.1
A police officer who is below a captain and leads other officers
  • noun
  • /luˈtɛnənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : teniente de policía
  • I'm Lieutenant McCarthy, NYPD.
  • a police lieutenant

Detective makes the same equivalent pay as it's between a Lieutenant and a captain.

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Examples

  • There was no real fight, and the arresting lieutenant later said he felt it was a staged incident.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • As I got out of my car, a man came running up to me, Lieutenant Wilson of the Washington, DC homicide squad.

  • According to his file, the lieutenant was fresh out of the Academy.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • "Would you please ask the lieutenant if he will see me?

    Fiction book (1992)
  • There was a tap on the door; it opened, and the lieutenant looked in at him.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I'm sorry, but the police department will have to bear with us, lieutenant.

  • I have with me Lieutenant Teague of the Metro Police.

  • He's a lieutenant for the Anti-Kidnapping Division.

  • Vicki, I want you to meet Lieutenant Eddy Malone of the Boston Police.

  • The lieutenant briefed the team before they went out on patrol.

Synonyms

cop
vslieutenant
  • Informal
6.3

A person who works for the police

is formal and denotes a specific middle or junior rank
officer
vslieutenant
1.2

A person who works for the police and enforces the law

is more specific, indicating a middle or junior rank
police officer
vslieutenant
560 1.1

A person who keeps people safe and stops crime

is narrower, naming a mid rank rather than any duty member
policeman
vslieutenant
303 1.0

A man whose job is to keep people safe and enforce laws

is gender neutral and highlights rank rather than sex
police lieutenant
vslieutenant
  • US
4 3.7

A police officer who is above sergeant and below captain

is the specific rank below captain described in the key

Compounds

lieutenant governor
  • Specialized
33 6.3

An elected official who helps a state's governor and may take their place

lieutenant colonel
  • Specialized
13 7.0

A senior officer in the army or air force above a major and below a colonel who leads soldiers

lieutenant commander
  • Specialized
6 6.9

A Navy or Coast Guard officer who is above lieutenant and below commander

A junior officer with the lowest rank in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps

A police officer who is above sergeant and below captain

4 5.3

A military officer who is one rank below a captain

lieutenant general
  • Specialized
3 6.6

A high military officer ranking above major general and below general

lieutenant JG
  • Specialized
1 7.8

A junior officer in the US Navy or Coast Guard who is above ensign and below lieutenant

1 6.5

An officer rank in the US Navy and Coast Guard above ensign and below lieutenant

An officer in the Army, Air Force or Marines who ranks above a second lieutenant and below a captain

A junior officer with the lowest rank in the Army, Air Force, or Marines

How Senior

chief
1.9
captain
247 2.9
lieutenant
  • Specialized
124 5.1
sergeant
422 3.9
officer
1.2

Surface Forms

lieutenant singular
lieutenants plural

Morphology

lieutenant = lieu + tenant (opaque) = lieu + tenant

Historically a loan compound meaning 'place-holder', but its parts are not productive English morphemes for deriving the modern sense 'deputy' and are not transparent to learners.

Etymology

The word lieutenant comes from the old French parts lieu 'place' and tenant 'holding', so it originally meant a 'place-holder'. That helps explain the police meaning: a police lieutenant is a middle-rank officer who can lead units and stand in for a higher officer.