I. cap ‧ tain 1 W3 /ˈkæptən, ˈkæptɪn/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: French ; Origin: capitain , from Late Latin capitaneus 'chief' , from Latin caput 'head' ]
1 . the sailor in charge of a ship, or the pilot in charge of an aircraft:
The captain and crew welcome you aboard.
2 . a military officer with a fairly high rank ⇨ ↑ group captain
3 . someone who leads a team or other group of people
captain of
Julie’s captain of the quiz team.
The Blackhawks' team captain was the first to score.
4 . captain of industry someone who owns or has an important job in a big company
• • •
THESAURUS
■ people on a plane
▪ pilot someone who operates the controls of a plane:
an airline pilot
|
He has a pilot’s licence.
▪ co-pilot a pilot who shares the control of a plane with the main pilot:
The pilot became ill, and the co-pilot had to land the plane.
▪ captain the pilot who is in charge of an aircraft:
This is your captain speaking. We will be arriving at Gatwick Airport in approximately 10 minutes.
▪ the flight crew all the people who work on a plane during a flight:
The flight crew asked for permission to land at Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport.
▪ the cabin crew the people whose job is to serve food and drinks to passengers on a plane:
The cabin crew will be serving drinks shortly.
▪ flight attendant someone whose job is to serve food and drink to passengers on a plane:
The flight attendant told him to go back to his seat.
▪ steward/stewardess a man/woman whose job is to serve food and drinks to passengers on a plane:
I asked the stewardess if I could have a blanket.
II. captain 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . to lead a group or team of people and be their captain:
The U.S. team, captained by Arthur Ashe, won the Davis Cup in 1981 and 1982.
2 . to be in charge of a ship, aircraft etc