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executive officer

executive officer

50 4.9
A person who is second in command and runs daily work in a military unit or organization
  • noun
  • /ɪɡˈzɛkjʊtɪv ˈɔfɪsər/
translation icon : segundo al mando
  • No executive officer has higher marks than I do, Captain.

And luckily I had a great executive officer who, who sent me out.

Examples

  • As the executive officer, she coordinated all activities between different departments.

  • I'm not the Captain, I'm the executive officer.

  • I have permission to speak to the executive officer.

  • We take turns to act as a sort of executive officer for the week.

  • I am the executive officer.

  • Pitt was the intermediate officer on my old ship, where I was the executive officer.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The platoon commander, Lieutenant Jonathan Kendrick... and the executive officer, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Markinson.

  • The executive officer was responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the battalion.

  • Lieutenant Smith acted as the executive officer during the mission, ensuring everything ran smoothly.

Synonyms

second-in-command
vsexecutive officer
28 3.7

A person who helps the leader and takes charge if they are away

is a titled officer serving directly under leadership in military or organizational hierarchies
subcommander
vsexecutive officer
  • Specialized
5 7.0

A person just below the leader in a military or similar group

is a general officer role across organizations defined by serving directly under leadership

How Senior

commanding officer
  • Specialized
80 4.1
executive officer
50 4.9
officer
2.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

executive + officer

The phrase is compositionally predictable: 'executive' (having managerial or decision-making authority) modifies 'officer' (a person holding rank), so it denotes an officer with executive/managerial duties. This is a transparent, cross-linguistically common modification pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words would typically infer the meaning (though specific rank nuances may need context).

Etymology

Executive officer comes from the simple image of a leader who carries out orders: an executive is the person who makes things happen and an officer is a leader. So an executive officer is the leader who makes sure orders are done and is often the 'second in command'.