# captain

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkæp.tɪn/ · frequency rank #1,359

## Definitions
1. A chief or leader.
2. The person lawfully in command of a ship or other vessel.
3. An army officer with a rank between the most senior grade of lieutenant and major.
4. A naval officer with a rank between commander and commodore.
5. 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.
6. A rank qualifying an airline pilot to act as pilot in command of a two-pilot flight crew.
7. 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.
8. The leader of a group of workers.
9. The head boy of a school.
10. A maître d', a headwaiter.
11. An honorific title given to a prominent person. See colonel.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **certain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-certain)
- **contain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-contain)
- **curtain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-curtain)
- **caption** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-caption)
- **captains** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-captains)
- **chaplain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-chaplain)
- **Chastain** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-chastain)
- **captaincy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/captain-vs-captaincy)
- **Caplan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/caplan-vs-captain)
- **Caitlin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/caitlin-vs-captain)
- **capitan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/capitan-vs-captain)

## Common misspellings (10)
`acptain`, `capatin`, `capptain`, `captainn`, `captani`, `captian`, `capttain`, `catpain`, `ccaptain`, `cpatain`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/captain