Definition of "rear admiral" [rear admiral]

• A commissioned rank in the U.S. Navy or Coast Guard that is above captain and below vice admiral. (noun)
• One who holds this rank. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "After serving under Beresford in the Mediterranean and Channel Fleets, he was promoted to rear admiral in 1910 and knighted in 1913."
• "He was promoted to rear admiral and knighted, and in February 1913 took command of the prestigious North American and West Indies Station."
• "He was the Director of Naval Intelligence and, in 1904, was promoted to rear admiral and given command of a cruiser squadron."