Pronunciation guide

How to pronounce lieutenant

loo-TEN-unt (US) or lef-TEN-unt (UK); the UK form has an 'f' sound that is not in the spelling

US/ljuˈtɛn.ənt/

ljutɛnənt

UK/lɛfˈtɛn.ənt/

lɛftɛnənt

New to IPA symbols? Read the IPA guide.

What “lieutenant” means

The lowest junior commissioned officer rank(s) in many military forces, often Army and Marines.

A military grade that is junior to the grade the adjective modifies: lieutenant colonel, lieutenant general, lieutenant commander.

In a sentence

  • The lieutenant orders the squad during the briefing.
  • A lieutenant in the British Army sits above second lieutenant and below captain.

Say it out loud a few times, then check yourself.

Look up another wordTry a pronunciation quiz

Definitions and examples are derived from Wiktionary, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, then edited by QuickPronounce. Pronunciation data draws on CMUdict.