lieutenant
/l(j)uˈtɛn.ənt/noun, adjective
lieutenant is spelled L-I-E-U-T-E-N-A-N-T. The wrong spelling people search most is leutenant: about 220 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 42 of all searches for the word. Lieutenant is a noun meaning “In the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks…”. The plural of lieutenant is lieutenants.
How many letters and syllables are in lieutenant?
| Letters | 10: L-I-E-U-T-E-N-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 28 times per million words; the 3,364th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, leutenant, about 220 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell lieutenant?
Lieutenant is spelled L-I-E-U-T-E-N-A-N-T. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 26 of the searches for lieutenant in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is lieutenant?
Lieutenant appears 28 times per million words in written English, the 3,364th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lieutenant?
- UK /lɛfˈtɛn.ənt/
- UK /ləfˈtɛn.ənt/
- US /l(j)uˈtɛn.ənt/
Lieutenant has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-lieutenant.ogg, En-au-lieutenant.ogg, En-us-lieutenant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lieutenant
Also written: loot.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of lieutenant
- lieutenants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lieutenant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USIn the US Army, Air Force and Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant" or as the complete forms of the ranks.
- 2
USA naval officer whose rank is above that of ensign in the United States Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.
- 3
USA commissioned officer in the United States Coast Guard, Public Health Service, or National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration whose rank is above that of ensign and below lieutenant commander. There are two ranks of lieutenant: lieutenant junior grade and lieutenant.
- 4
UKA commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal Marines, holding the rank above second lieutenant and below captain. Both ranks may be referred to as "lieutenant"; however, "second lieutenant" is to specify that the officer is not yet a full lieutenant.
- 5
UKA naval officer whose rank is above that of sub-lieutenant in the Royal Navy and below that of a lieutenant commander.
- 6
AustraliaCanadaA naval commissioned officer who holds the rank above sub-lieutenant and below lieutenant commander.
- 7
A person who manages or executes the plans and directives of another, more senior person; a manager to their director.
- 8
The second-in-command (2IC) of a group.
adjective
- 1
A military grade that is junior to the grade the adjective modifies: lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, lieutenant commander.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of lieutenant (when used as a title before a name)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate lieutenant?
Wiktionary records 5 abbreviations of lieutenant: LT, Lieut, Lt, lieut, loot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lieutenant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lieutenant, lieutenante |
| German | Leutnant, Leutnantin , Gehilfe, Stellvertreter |
| Portuguese | tenente , procurador |
| Spanish | teniente , lugarteniente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lieutenant come from?
From Middle English lieutenant, lieftenaunt, from Anglo-Norman lieutenant, lyutenaunt, leu tenant, leu tenaunt (“deputy, lieutenant”), from Old French lieu (“place”) + tenant (“holder”). Doublet of locum tenens and stadtholder.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).