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brigadier general

brigadier general

4 7.0
A senior military officer above colonel and below major general
  • noun
  • /ˌbrɪɡəˈdɪr ˈdʒɛnərəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : brigadier general
  • Senator John Tyler Morgan of Alabama, a former Confederate brigadier general, was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
  • rank of brigadier general

He happens to be a Brigadier General in the Army as well, Army Reserve.

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Examples

  • President George Washington appointed him as brigadier general in the United States Army for the 1790 campaign against the western Indians.

    Blog text (4)
  • Garfield was a staunch abolitionist prior to the Civil War, and he became a brigadier general at only 31 years old, successfully leading the Union troops against the Confederates in a famous battle at Middle Creek, Kentucky.

  • His commander is a decorated retired brigadier general.

    Blog text (17)
  • Salt's rise from Sergeant to Brigadier General took less than three years.

  • He happens to be a Brigadier General in the Army as well, Army Reserve.

  • In 1986, a Druze was elevated for the first time to the rank of brigadier general.

    Academic text (1993)
  • During the conference, the brigadier general outlined the military's strategy for the upcoming mission.

  • After years of service, she was honored with the rank of brigadier general in recognition of her leadership skills.

  • The brigadier general received accolades for his role in coordinating relief efforts after the natural disaster.

Synonyms

brigadier
vsbrigadier general
  • UK
27 8.3

A senior army officer above a colonel and below a major general

is the formal full rank title rather than the shorter name

How High-Ranking

general
636 4.2
lieutenant general
  • Specialized
3 6.6
brigadier general
  • Specialized
4 7.0
colonel
208 7.7
major
  • Specialized
922 4.9
captain
247 2.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

brigadier + general

The meaning is directly compositional: 'brigadier' denotes a specific rank and 'general' denotes a senior officer, so together they specify a general-level officer associated with that rank. This rank-compounding pattern is common across languages and follows predictable military naming, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Brigadier general comes from the idea of a leader of a 'brigade', a group of soldiers: brigadier means the officer in charge of a brigade and general shows a high officer. So the name means a senior officer who commands a brigade, which is why the rank is below major general but above colonel.