Definition

1. Noun:
   • A commissioned officer in the United States Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps holding the lowest rank. A second lieutenant is the entry-level rank for commissioned officers, typically given to officers upon completion of their initial training. They are often placed in charge of a small platoon or section.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • After graduating from the academy, she was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
  • The second lieutenant led the platoon on their first training exercise.
  • Promotion from second lieutenant to first lieutenant usually occurs after 18 to 24 months.

Advanced Usage

• "to pin on the gold bar of a second lieutenant": a phrase referring to the commissioning ceremony where the rank insignia (a single gold bar) is attached to the officer's uniform.
  • At the ceremony, his father had the honor of pinning on the gold bar of a second lieutenant.

Variants and Related Words

• First Lieutenant (n): the next higher commissioned officer rank above second lieutenant.
• Butterbar (n, informal/slang): a sometimes derogatory slang term for a second lieutenant, referring to the gold bar insignia and implying inexperience.
• O-1 (n): the pay grade designation for a second lieutenant in the U.S. military.

Synonyms

• Subaltern (n, chiefly British): a term for a junior officer, equivalent to a second lieutenant or lieutenant.
• Ensign (n): the equivalent entry-level commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy and Coast Guard.

Related Phrases

• "shavetail second lieutenant": an old, informal term emphasizing the extreme youth and inexperience of a newly commissioned officer.
  • The veteran sergeant was tasked with mentoring the shavetail second lieutenant.

Idioms

• "A second lieutenant knows everything; a first lieutenant suspects something is wrong; a captain knows something is wrong but doesn't care; a major cares but doesn't know anything is wrong.": A military aphorism humorously describing perceived attitudes at different officer ranks, highlighting the overconfidence sometimes associated with the most junior officers.

Noun

1. a commissioned officer in the Army or Air Force or Marine Corps holding the lowest rank