lieutenant colonel
13
7.0
- noun
- /luˈtɛnənt ˈkɜrnəl/
- Specialized
:
teniente coronel
- Friends exerted their influence on his behalf, and he retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
- led by a lieutenant colonel
And the battalion commander comes up, Lieutenant Colonel Brad Whited.
- And the battalion commander comes up, Lieutenant Colonel Brad Whited.
- This was Creighton Abrams, the chief of staff of the Army, standing in front of the Lieutenant Colonel going, this is your charter.
- Scott Mann, retired Lieutenant Colonel Green Beret out of Special Forces.
- Then you know, we're also Scott Mann has confirmed it, former Green Beret Lieutenant Colonel retired.
- This young Lieutenant Colonel has him call back the algorithm, the algorithmics they're called.
- And then I'd probably be up to Lieutenant Colonel Psycho at some point, but that's the sort of posh trajectory in showbiz.
Examples
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Captains, majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels meet his gaze and nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier.
Blog text (2) -
After years of service, she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the air force.
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Where is the lieutenant colonel?
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When the lieutenant colonel addresses the camp, they line us up there.
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Not a single general had joined the revolt, which was led by a lieutenant colonel.
Academic text (1997) -
Paul is a retired military Lieutenant Colonel, was a special OPS guy.
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And the battalion commander comes up, Lieutenant Colonel Brad Whited.
-
Scott Mann, retired Lieutenant Colonel Green Beret out of Special Forces.
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A lieutenant colonel leading the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry, Moore details the battle of the Ia Drang.
Academic text (2001) -
Special boards select the few (about one out of ten) lieutenant colonels and colonels who will be eligible for assignment to command.
Academic text (1995)
Synonyms
A military officer ranked above major and below colonel, often called lieutenant colonel
How Senior
5
6.9
- Specialized
4
7.0
208
7.7
- Specialized
13
7.0
- Specialized
922
4.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound clearly combines 'lieutenant' (a deputy officer) with 'colonel', so its sense as a military rank related to and subordinate to a colonel is directly inferable from the parts. This composition and the hierarchical meaning are cross‑linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reasonably understand the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Lieutenant colonel comes from old armies: a lieutenant was someone who held the place of the colonel, so the lieutenant colonel was the colonel's 'deputy' who could lead when the colonel was away. That's why the rank sits just below colonel and above major today.