officer

/ˈɑfɪsər/

/ˈɒfɪsə/

Other forms: officers; officered; officering

An officer is someone who works for a police force or has a high position in the military. Police officers in some towns and cities patrol on bikes, or occasionally even on horseback.

You might see police officers patrolling in your neighborhood, or guarding a bank, or inspecting bags in a train station. Military officers hold a high rank, and they issue commands to lower-ranking service members, and an officer is also the commander of a military ship. Another kind of officer is simply "a person who holds an office," which can mean an elected position or a senior job at a company, like a "chief executive officer," or CEO.

Definitions of officer

1. noun

   a member of a police force
   “it was an accident, officer”

   synonyms: police officer, policeman

   types:

   bobby

   an informal term for a British policeman

   bull, cop, copper, fuzz, pig

   uncomplimentary terms for a policeman

   captain, police captain, police chief

   a policeman in charge of a precinct

   constable, police constable

   a police officer of the lowest rank

   detective, investigator, police detective, tec

   a police officer who investigates crimes

   gendarme

   a French policeman

   inspector

   a high ranking police officer

   motorcycle cop, motorcycle policeman, speed cop

   a policeman who rides a motorcycle (and who checks the speeds of motorists)

   police matron, policewoman

   a woman policeman

   Mountie

   colloquial term for a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

   shoofly

   an undercover police officer who investigates other policemen

   traffic cop

   a policeman who controls the flow of automobile traffic

   trooper

   a mounted policeman

   state trooper, trooper

   a state police officer

   Chief Constable

   the head of the police force in a county (or similar area)

   crossing guard

   someone who helps people (especially children) at a traffic crossing

   dick, gumshoe, hawkshaw

   someone who is a detective

   meter maid

   policewoman who is assigned to write parking tickets

   plainclothesman

   a detective who wears civilian clothes on duty

   pointsman

   a policeman stationed at an intersection to direct traffic

   tracer

   an investigator who is employed to find missing persons or missing goods

   type of:

   law officer, lawman, peace officer

   an officer of the law
2. noun

   any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
   “an officer is responsible for the lives of his men”

   synonyms: military officer

   types:

   adjutant, aide, aide-de-camp

   an officer who acts as military assistant to a more senior officer

   army officer

   an officer in the armed forces

   brass hat

   a high-ranking military officer

   chief of staff

   the senior officer of a service of the armed forces

   commandant, commander, commanding officer

   an officer in charge of a military unit

   commissioned officer

   a military officer holding a commission

   desk officer

   a military officer who is not assigned to active duty

   executive officer

   the officer second in command

   inspector general

   a military officer responsible for investigations

   military adviser, military advisor

   a military officer who serves as an adviser to the troops of an allied nation

   naval officer

   an officer in the navy

   enlisted officer, noncom, noncommissioned officer

   a military officer appointed from enlisted personnel

   warrant officer

   holds rank by virtue of a warrant

   Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin, Grigori Potemkin, Grigori Potyokin, Potemkin, Potyokin

   a Russian officer and politician who was a favorite of Catherine II and in 1762 helped her to seize power; when she visited the Crimea in 1787 he gave the order for sham villages to be built (1739-1791)

   SACLANT, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic

   commanding officer of ACLANT; a general of the United States Army nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the North Atlantic Council

   SACEUR, Supreme Allied Commander Europe

   commanding officer of ACE; NATO's senior military commander in Europe

   adjutant general

   a general's adjutant; chief administrative officer

   aircraftman, aircraftsman

   a noncommissioned officer in the British Royal Air Force

   bombardier

   a noncommissioned officer in the British artillery

   chief petty officer

   a person with the senior noncommissioned naval rank

   commander in chief, generalissimo

   the officer who holds the supreme command

   commissioned military officer

   a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps

   commissioned naval officer

   a commissioned officer in the navy

   corporal

   a noncommissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marines

   drill instructor, drill master

   a noncommissioned officer who instructs recruits in military marching and discipline

   judge advocate

   an officer assigned to the judge advocate general

   judge advocate general

   the senior legal advisor to a branch of the military

   lance corporal

   an enlisted man in the marine corps ranking above a private first class and below a corporal

   line officer

   a commissioned officer with combat units (not a staff officer or a supply officer)

   naval commander

   naval officer in command of a fleet of warships

   P.O., PO, petty officer

   a noncommissioned officer in the Navy or Coast Guard with a rank comparable to sergeant in the Army

   quartermaster

   an army officer who provides clothing and subsistence for troops

   ranker

   a commissioned officer who has been promoted from enlisted status

   sergeant

   any of several noncommissioned officer ranks in the Army or Air Force or Marines ranking above a corporal

   staff officer

   a commissioned officer assigned to a military commander's staff

   supply officer

   a commissioned officer responsible for logistics

   wing commander

   (RAF rank) one who is next below a group captain

   type of:

   man, military man, military personnel, serviceman

   someone who serves in the armed forces; a member of a military force
3. noun

   someone who is appointed or elected to an office and who holds a position of trust
   “he is an officer of the court”

   “the club elected its officers for the coming year”

   synonyms: officeholder

   types:

   probation officer

   the officer of the court who supervises probationers

   sergeant at arms, serjeant-at-arms

   an officer (as of a legislature or court) who maintains order and executes commands

   type of:

   holder

   a person who holds something

   functionary, official

   a worker who holds or is invested with an office
4. noun

   a person authorized to serve in a position of authority on a vessel
   “he is the officer in charge of the ship's engines”

   synonyms: ship's officer

   types:

   captain, master, sea captain, skipper

   an officer who is licensed to command a merchant ship

   first mate, mate

   the officer below the master on a commercial ship

   privateer, privateersman

   an officer or crew member of a privateer

   purser

   an officer aboard a ship who keeps accounts and attends to the passengers' welfare

   navigator, sailing master

   the ship's officer in charge of navigation

   steward

   the ship's officer who is in charge of provisions and dining arrangements

   supercargo

   an officer on a merchant ship in charge of the cargo and its sale and purchase

   type of:

   Jack, Jack-tar, gob, mariner, old salt, sea dog, seafarer, seaman, tar

   a man who serves as a sailor
5. verb

   direct or command as an officer
   type of:

   command

   be in command of