group captain

2 7.7

A senior officer in the Royal Air Force with the same rank as an army colonel

noun
/ɡruːp ˈkæptɪn/

: capitán de grupo

After the mission, the group captain reviewed the flight logs with his team.
Group Captain Peter Townsend
Group Captain Peter

In the final stages of the interview you got to meet Group Captain Freddie himself.

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Examples

I told you to take it easy, Group Captain.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Group Captain Pritchard here will be your Air Force liaison.

Thunderball (1965)
Group Captain Mandrake speaking.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
The group captain addressed the squad during the morning briefing.
The group captain coordinated the air operations for the exercise.

Synonyms

military officer

vsgroup captain

38 3.2

A person in charge of soldiers who gives orders and leads them

is limited to the air arm and denotes a senior rank equal to colonel

air force officer

vsgroup captain

1 2.7

A military person with a rank who serves in a country's air force

is a senior commissioned officer in one air service, equal to an army colonel

How Senior

group captain

2 7.7

wing commander

4 8.4

aircraft officer

Jargon

6.7

Surface Forms

group captain singular

group captains plural

Morphology

group + captain

The expression is compositionally interpretable as a 'captain' associated with a 'group', so a B1 learner who knows both words will likely infer it denotes an officer who leads or commands a group. However, 'Group Captain' is a specific institutional RAF rank (equivalent to an army colonel), and that precise rank status and equivalence are specialized, non‑predictable information not recoverable from the constituents alone.

Etymology

The title group captain comes from the British Royal Air Force. It literally names the captain, the leader of a group of planes and crews, so it means a 'senior officer' who is in charge of several units.