petty officer
10
4.8
- noun
- /ˈpɛti ˈɔfɪsər/
- Specialized
:
suboficial
- The petty officer was responsible for leading the training exercises for new recruits.
- chief petty officer
- petty officer, third class
- petty officer in the Navy
Examples
-
Wayne Best served as a chief petty officer aboard the USS Cowie during World War II.
-
My father was a chief petty officer and I went to the Academy.
-
For 25 years, he was chief petty officer in your Navy.
-
Holman will be the senior petty officer.
-
I'm Wellbeck, the chief petty officer.
-
You're a petty officer in the so-called free Dutch Navy.
-
He's a petty officer.
-
A petty officer and three armed men came into the room—the shore patrol.
Fiction book (1995) -
That desire led him to team with five other petty officers first class to start a community outreach program that utilizes sailors stationed in New Orleans as a volunteer labor pool to assist at a local hospital and support a local high school.
Blog text (17) -
After years of dedicated service, he was promoted to the rank of petty officer in the Coast Guard.
Synonyms
422
3.9
A military or police officer who is in charge of and trains lower-ranked people
5
8.6
A Navy or Coast Guard leader with a rank like an Army sergeant
Antonyms
- Specialized
3
3.6
A member of the military who has power from the government to give orders
How Senior
- Specialized
3
3.6
2
6.5
- Specialized
2
7.3
- Specialized
10
4.8
59
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
While 'petty' (minor/small) plus 'officer' can suggest a lower-ranking or less senior officer, the MWE names a specific institutional naval rank (a noncommissioned officer equivalent to an army sergeant) whose precise status and duties are not predictable from the parts alone. Because the constituents give a general clue about lower rank but not the technical meaning, it is partially transparent and requires lexical or cultural knowledge to understand fully.
Etymology
Petty officer comes from an older use of petty meaning 'small' or 'lower', so it literally suggested a 'small officer' on a ship. That's why today petty officer means a lower-ranking officer who looks after and leads sailors.