Captain: The One in Charge of the Ship, the Team or the Company
A captain leads a ship, an aircraft, a military company or a sports team. The rank sits at very different heights depending on which service you are in.
A captain is the person in command. The confusing part is rank: an army captain commands a company, while a naval captain commands a warship and is several ranks senior. The word is the same; the authority is not.
- The commander of a ship. *The captain gave the order to sail.*
- An army or air force rank. *Promoted to captain at twenty-eight.*
- The leader of a sports team. *She was made captain this season.*
- To lead (verb). *He captained the side for six years.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | captain | The ship's captain. |
| Verb | captain | He captains the team. |
| Noun | captaincy | A successful captaincy. |
| Abbreviation | Capt. | Capt. Ahmed Yilmaz. |
| Compound | vice-captain | The vice-captain took over. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The captain is responsible for everyone aboard.Maritime law puts final authority with the captain.
- He captained his country eleven times.The verb is common in sports writing.
- A captain of industry addressed the conference.A leading businessman — a Victorian phrase still in use.
The same word, different heights
- Army captain — a junior officer commanding a company
- Naval captain — a senior officer commanding a major warship
- Airline captain — the pilot in command, regardless of rank elsewhere
- Ship's master — the legal title of a merchant vessel's captain
- Anyone in command of a vessel is addressed as captain, whatever their formal rank
From Late Latin *capitaneus*, chief, from *caput*, head — the same root as capital. English borrowed it through Old French in the fourteenth century, already meaning a military leader.
Captain or skipper?
Skipper is informal, common in sailing and in British sports commentary. Captain is the formal title.
Does the captain go down with the ship?
There is no such law. There is a duty to see to passengers and crew first, which is where the tradition comes from.