1The person in command of a ship.

1. 1.1The pilot in command of a civil aircraft.
   ‘aircraft captains are entitled to deny boarding to passengers under the influence of drugs’
   More example sentences

   • ‘It's the sort of aircraft where the captain's pre-flight safety briefing includes a warning not to touch the controls!’
   • ‘Balpa said that under the agreement an aircraft captain will be told when sky marshals are to be on board a flight, who they are and where they will be sitting.’
   • ‘Once the aircraft was on auto pilot, the captain, who had greeted me with a huge smile on the tarmac, came out of his cabin and chatted with the passengers.’
   • ‘He also mentioned that the captain of that aircraft has been flying for more than 10 years, but 10 years with Southwest.’
   • ‘I can tell members that there were moments when the captain of one particular aircraft got rather agitated by what was going on in the cabin, and it was pretty darn scary.’
   • ‘An aircraft captain has been criticised after failing to properly report an incident which affected a Stansted-bound flight last year.’
   • ‘When we arrived at the flight line, the plane captain for my aircraft told us he was concerned with maintenance discrepancies found during his TA.’
   • ‘The aircraft's captain said that two aircraft had just flown into the World Trade Center.’
   • ‘The prosecutor said a police officer boarded the aircraft while the captain was preparing for the flight to Dalaman in Turkey.’
   • ‘Airline management has been intimidating pilots by permanently demoting captains following accidents or flight mishaps.’
   • ‘So, he quickly wrote a note and passed his concern to the aircraft captain via one of the backseat crewmembers.’
   • ‘During the emergency descent the captain, flight engineer, and the attendant regained consciousness and an emergency landing was made.’
   • ‘However: if we are to expect airplane captains and flight attendants to make important security decisions, they need to be properly trained.’
   • ‘The captain and one co-pilot will be in the pilots' seats for both takeoff and landing, but during the flight all crewmembers take turns at the controls.’
   • ‘When, many hours later, the plane was still a few miles away from Heathrow, the captain would have lowered the wheels of the aircraft.’
   • ‘The captain put on an oxygen mask and slowed the aircraft down.’
   • ‘Lightplane pilots are faced with virtually the same decision-making tasks as are captains of jumbo jets.’
   • ‘Now I've got 9,000 hours total time, I'm an instrument-rated pilot, and a captain on a Lear Jet.’
   • ‘At the same time, a Beech King Air, piloted by a retired airline captain, began its takeoff roll on runway 4.’
   • ‘And, just as the way someone drives a car affects gas consumption, the way a captain pilots a jet can waste fuel.’
   Synonyms

   airman, airwoman, flyer, aeronaut

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2. 1.2A rank of naval officer above commander and below commodore.
   ‘Among the burglar's loot were Nelson's three precious Naval Gold Medals, a mark of honour awarded to admirals and captains present at certain Naval engagements in the Napoleonic Wars.’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Among those attending were First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Alan West, retired First Sea Lord Admiral Jock Slater and several former commodores and captains of Dryad.’
   • ‘The state of the care at Haslar attracted the attention of the top brass, who in 1795 decided that executive command of the establishment would be better in the hands of Naval captains.’
   • ‘She wore the grey tunic of a naval captain, the rank badges so green with seaspray they were unreadable.’
   • ‘Incidentally, this pattern was that worn by captains and commanders from 1832-1939.’
   • ‘I hope some day that I will be able to visit, but certainly not in the capacity as a captain or a naval officer.’
   • ‘Initially the Navy had only two ranks, lieutenant and captain; flag ranks were not established until the Civil War.’
   • ‘Gold lace became confined to flag officers in both dress and undress uniforms; captains wore it only in full dress.’
   • ‘Cumberland later went back to sea with one captain and five commanders on board - the six are shortly to assume command of their own frigates and destroyers.’
   • ‘He was encouraged to support the Royal National Lifeboat Institution by two of his neighbours, who are retired naval captains and has already raised about £800.’
   • ‘Even Jane Austen contributed to militarization by glorifying being a naval captain's wife in Persuasion.’
   • ‘Drawn into the murky world of naval intelligence, the captain and his multinational crew are on a mysterious mission that even DeHaan doesn't understand.’
   • ‘In ‘Billy Budd’ the innocent boy is hanged by his reluctant captain in accordance with naval law.’
   • ‘I happen to be reading the diary of Betsy Freemantle, the wife of a naval captain during the Napoleonic Wars.’
   • ‘But the captain had summoned more naval men and now there was a small regiment chasing after them.’
   • ‘It turned out that Matt's Dad was a naval captain and his mother worked in Hong Kong, so he had to live with his Aunt.’
   • ‘Their children included three priests, two nuns and a naval captain.’
   • ‘Admiral West joined the RN in 1965 and he was the captain of HMS Ardent during the Falklands War.’
   • ‘He is a captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve and a P3C Orion pilot.’
   • ‘The captains expect their non-signal commanders to have a high level of automation knowledge.’
3. 1.3A rank of officer in the army and in the US and Canadian air forces, above lieutenant and below major.
   ‘Minister for Defence Robert Hill talks with an Australian Army captain and warrant officer at a Middle East base.’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Three to five platoons form a company, which is commanded by a captain with a first sergeant as the commander's principal NCO assistant.’
   • ‘What advice would you offer to U.S. Army infantry captains considering applying for an assignment in SOUTHCOM?’
   • ‘The failure of baby boomers to effectively communicate with younger generations of soldiers is driving many captains out of the Army.’
   • ‘‘With the Army at war, captains need to get back to their units,’ Thompson said.’
   • ‘One is an Army captain with a master's degree in archaeology.’
   • ‘To help alleviate a shortfall of 1,900 captains, the U.S. Army will promote officers earlier to the rank of captain beginning in October.’
   • ‘Because captain retention is so poor, Department of the Army has chosen to make captains from lieutenants at three years of service.’
   • ‘In addition, like shining stars, there were admirals, army colonels and captains everywhere.’
   • ‘A total of 8.7 percent of Army lieutenants and captains left in 2004 for example - the highest rate since 2001.’
   • ‘He and his wife, an active duty Army captain, have been stationed at Camp Zama for two years.’
   • ‘On Thursday, the senator agreed to lift his hold on promotions of 127 Air Force captains and majors.’
   • ‘Historically, 95 percent of lieutenants become captains.’
   • ‘These captains and lieutenants have formed a bond and mutual respect with their men and it is these faces that leaders remember for the rest of their lives.’
   • ‘The heart of any Army is not its generals, but its young sergeants, captains and colonels.’
   • ‘You would be hard pressed to find a young captain or major who hadn't flown combat sorties in the area of operations.’
   • ‘No doubt the two lieutenants, one captain, and the major looking over its sergeant's shoulder had something to do with that.’
   • ‘Also present was Sir Richard Kingsland, 92, a distinguished RAAF pilot who was one of the original aircraft captains of the squadron.’
   • ‘The plane captains, taking great pride in the condition of their jets, scrambled to their Hornets to close the canopies.’
   • ‘Through repeated rehearsals, a captain can adjust his defensive strategy and intercept virtual attackers before they reach their targets.’

2The leader of a team, especially in sports.

1. 2.1A powerful or influential person in a particular field.
   ‘a captain of industry’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Influential captains of industry have complained that Kerry is one of the most expensive counties in Ireland in terms of rates charged to businesses.’
   • ‘But the battle lines are not what you'd expect: local versus multinational, simple peasant versus powerful captains of industry.’
   • ‘Like him or loathe him, no-one could ignore Sir John, who mixed with prime ministers, princes, captains of industry and film stars.’
   • ‘I personally know of Government Ministers and many captains of industry here in Ireland who avail of their services on a regular basis.’
   • ‘The India High Commission recently hosted an interactive luncheon for the captains of business and industry.’
   • ‘This isn't business culture as such; advertising people aren't the captains of industry.’
   • ‘He dealt with captains of industry, ministers of the Crown, peers of the realm and princes of the blood - I was on the fringes of this highly powered world.’
   • ‘The Sunday Herald remains committed to encouraging our female captains of industry and entrepreneurs to speak with a louder voice in the future.’
   • ‘Joe is a powerful leader, a straight talker and a seasoned captain of industry.’
   • ‘It may be, and maybe this is the point of the bill, that members think that such people - captains of industry - should not be members of Parliament.’
   • ‘Manor Kingdom's client profile includes captains of industry, entrepreneurs, sportspeople and an increasing number of overseas buyers.’
   • ‘Armed with information gathered from personal station visits, Mariswamy wrote to Bangalore's industry captains.’
   • ‘There was this sense that the captains of industry were the proper people to steward us into this golden post-atomic age.’
   • ‘This meeting was held as a precursor to the meeting scheduled between Chief Minister Dharam Singh and the captains of the IT industry after September 20.’
   • ‘With considerable fanfare, but without any captains of industry, the president enacted a crackdown intended to take some of the tarnish off the blue chips.’
   • ‘After the Government was recently accused of being unresponsive, the chief minister called a meeting of industry captains and promised to address all issues on a war footing.’
   • ‘Gathered together were kings and prime ministers and presidents and captains of industry and the leaders of the world's great churches and other institutions.’
   • ‘Have captains of industry teaching them business skills?’
   • ‘As you know, I'm in business and I mix with some of the captains of industry.’
   • ‘It could be said that they would be captains of industry if they had directed their efforts towards honest pursuits.’
   Synonyms

   magnate, tycoon, mogul, grandee, baron, nabob, mandarin, industrialist

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2. 2.2British A head boy or girl in a school.
   ‘he did very well academically, becoming school captain’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Jessye Harris and James Gould will lead the students at Geraldton Grammar School this year as school captains.’
   • ‘Fellow year twelve student and school captain Vanessa Sheppard said the students were deeply affected by war.’
   • ‘Being a school captain is about more than just wearing a fancy badge.’
   • ‘The office of school captain was introduced in 1916 and was originally held by boys only. The school captains of 1915 were honorary.’
   • ‘As my time as School Captain draws to a close, I have been reflecting on my six years as a student at Box Hill High School.’
3. 2.3North American A supervisor of waiters or bellboys.
   ‘Vance was a busboy, waiter, captain, valet, and a limo driver before joining middle management in the '70s.’
   More example sentences

   • ‘This training manual covers every aspect of restaurant customer service for the positions of captain, waiter or waitress, and busser.’
   • ‘The service team - a captain, waiter, back waiter, and maitre d' dressed in tuxedos - are instructed to do whatever is necessary to make the guests happy.’
   • ‘Want to know what's proper to tip the captain, waiter, or sommelier when dining out?’

3(in the US) a police officer in charge of a precinct, ranking below a chief.

Be the captain of (a ship, aircraft, or sports team)