captain
English · Français · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
captain¹
- /ˈkæp.tɪn/ UK
- /ˈkæp.tən/ UK
- /ˈkæp.tən/ Australia, US
- /ˈkæp.ən/ informal
- [ˈkæpn̩] informal
- [ˈkæpm̩] informal
Sounds like captan (one pronunciation) · Rhymes with (US, General Australian) -æptən
Where it comes from
From Middle English capitain, capteyn, from Old French capitaine, from Late Latin capitāneus, from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kap-.
Doublet of chieftain, also from Old French.
noun captains
- A chief or leader. For out of the shal come a captaine, whych shall govern my people israhel.
- The person lawfully in command of a ship or other vessel. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, […] naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several states on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.
- An army officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major. "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.[…]."
- A naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore.
- A commissioned officer in the United States Navy, Coast Guard, NOAA Corps, or PHS Corps of a grade superior to a commander and junior to a rear admiral (lower half). A captain is equal in grade or rank to a United States Army, Marine Corps, or Air Force colonel.
-
A rank qualifying an airline pilot to act as pilot in command of a two-pilot flight crew.
Similar: pilot, pilot in command
- One of the athletes on a sports team who is designated to make decisions, and is allowed to speak for his team with a referee or official. Captain's supposed to be the leader, right?
-
The leader of a group of workers.
John Henry said to the captain, "A man ain't nothing but a man."
Similar: supervisor, straw boss, foreman
- The head boy of a school.
- A maître d', a headwaiter. 1977, Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Frey, lyricists, "Hotel California", So I called up the Captain, "Please bring me my wine." / He said: "We haven't had that spirit here since 1969."
- An honorific title given to a prominent person. See colonel.
verb captains · captaining · captained
- To act as captain
- To exercise command of a ship, aircraft or sports team. The Olympic carried 1,313 passengers on its first trip across the Atlantic. It was captained by Edward Smith — the same captain who went down with the Titanic less than a year later.
Captain²
noun Captains · Cap'n
- The honorific of a captain, especially a ship's captain or a person with the military rank of captain. These islands were discovered by Captain Cook.
- Forms a title for a superhero seen as embodying or possessing in high degree the qualities associated with the ensuing phrase Captain America; Captain Marvel; Captain Hindsight
- Forms a title or nickname for a person; typically a nonce coinage Abbott has this alter ego, Captain Creepy. I mean, if he's not chatting away to the nation about his daughters' virginity, he's using anti-rape slogans to belittle the female Prime Minister.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: police chief, chieftain, master, sea captain, skipper, head waiter, police captain, senior pilot, capt, comandante, officer, commander, sarge, commandant, commissioner, boss
Translations
Every language
noun the person lawfully in command of a sea-going vessel
| Español | capitán |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 선장 seonjang |
| 日本語 | 船長 senchō |
| 中文 | 艦長 /舰长 jiànzhǎng, 船長 /船长 chuánzhǎng |
| हिन्दी | जहाज़रान jahāzrān, कप्तान kaptān |
| Kiswahili | nahodha |
| Português | capitão, capitã |
| Français | capitaine |
| Deutsch | Kapitän |
| Italiano | capitano |
| Ελληνικά | πλοίαρχος ploíarchos, καπετάνιος kapetánios |
| Română | căpitan |
| Русский | капита́н kapitán |
| Tiếng Việt | thuyền trưởng |
| العربية | طَيَّار ṭayyār, قُبْطَان qubṭān, رُبَّان rubbān |
| עברית | קְבַרְנִיט kvarnít, רַב חוֹבֵל rav khovél, קֶפְּטֵן képten |
noun the person lawfully in command of an airliner
| Español | capitán |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 기장 gijang |
| 日本語 | 機長 kichō |
| 中文 | 機長 /机长 jīzhǎng |
| Português | capitão |
| Français | capitaine |
| Deutsch | Flugkapitän |
| Italiano | capitano |
| Ελληνικά | κυβερνήτης kyvernítis, καπετάνιος kapetánios |
| Русский | капита́н kapitán |
| العربية | طَيَّار ṭayyār |
| עברית | קְבַרְנִיט kvarnít |
noun an army officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major
| Español | capitán |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 대위 daewi |
| 日本語 | 大尉 taii |
| 中文 | 上尉 shàngwèi |
| Kiswahili | kapteni |
| Português | capitão |
| Français | capitaine |
| Deutsch | Stabshauptmann, Hauptmann |
| Italiano | capitano |
| Ελληνικά | λοχαγός lochagós |
| Русский | капита́н kapitán |
| العربية | نَقِيب naqīb, قُبْطَان qubṭān |
| עברית | סֶרֶן séren |
noun an air force officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major
| Ελληνικά | σμηναγός sminagós |
|---|
noun a naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore or rear admiral
| 한국어 | 대령 daeryeong, 상좌 sangjwa |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 大佐 taisa |
| 中文 | 海軍上校 /海军上校 hǎijūn shàngxiào |
| Kiswahili | kapteni |
| Português | capitão, capitão de mar e guerra |
| Français | capitaine de vaisseau |
| Deutsch | Kapitän zur See |
| Italiano | capitano di vascello |
| Ελληνικά | πλοίαρχος ploíarchos, καπετάνιος kapetánios, κυβερνήτης kyvernítis |
| Русский | капита́н kapitán |
| עברית | קֶפְּטֵן képten |
noun one of the athletes on a sports team designated to make decisions
| Español | capitán |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 캡틴 kaeptin |
| 日本語 | キャプテン kyaputen |
| 中文 | 隊長 /队长 duìzhǎng |
| Kiswahili | kapteni |
| Português | capitão |
| Français | capitaine |
| Deutsch | Mannschaftskapitän |
| Italiano | capitano |
| Ελληνικά | αρχηγός archigós |
| Русский | капита́н kapitán |
| Tiếng Việt | đội trưởng |
| العربية | قَائِد qāʔid, كَبْتِن kabtin |
| עברית | קֶפְּטֵן kepten |
verb to act as a captain
| Español | capitanear |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | unahodha |
| Ελληνικά | ηγούμαι igoúmai |
verb to exercise command
| Español | capitanear, pilotar |
|---|---|
| Kiswahili | amrisha |
| Português | pilotar |
| Français | agir en capitaine, piloter |
| Ελληνικά | ηγούμαι igoúmai, κυβερνώ kyvernó |
Talk about this word "captain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/captain. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. captain. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/captain "captain." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/captain.Cite this
@misc{captain_2026,
title = {captain},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/captain},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
