Definition of "captain" []

• One who commands, leads, or guides others, especially: (noun)
• The officer in command of a ship, an aircraft, or a spacecraft. (noun)
• A precinct commander in a police or fire department, usually ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief. (noun)
• The designated leader of a team or crew in sports. (noun)
• A commissioned rank in the U.S. Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps that is above first lieutenant and below major. (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.

• "I have heard, in the armory at Boston, a militia captain (_captain_, mind you!) give the command "Attention!" in three different ways, continually experimenting."
• "I tell you I’m captain of this ship, —captain and owner."
• ""_Excelsior_" was my motto; and, assisted by the generous captain, I soon after became a third mate, and afterwards a second mate, and, still later, a first mate, and, last of all, a _captain_!"