admiral

UK: /ˈædmərəl/ US: /ˈædmərəl/ ,(ad′mər əl)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

ad•mi•ral /ˈædmərəl/   n. [countable]

1. Naval Terms the commander in chief of a naval fleet.

ad•mi•ral•ship, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ad•mi•ral  (ad′mər əl), n. 

1. Naval Terms the commander in chief of a fleet.
2. Naval Terms, Military a naval officer of the highest rank.
3. Naval Terms, Military a naval officer of a high rank: the grades in the U.S. Navy are fleet admiral, admiral, vice-admiral, and rear admiral.
4. Naval Terms [Obs.] the flagship of an admiral.
5. British Terms a master who directs a fishing fleet.
6. Insects any of several often brightly colored butterflies of the family Nymphalidae, as Vanessa atalanta (red admiral.)

• Medieval Latin admīrābilis mundī for Arabic amīr al-mu'minīn commander of the faithful; or with replacement of a-⁵ by ad-, as in administer
• Arabic amīr al commander of the; -d-
• Old French
• Middle English, variant of amiral 1175–1225

ad′mi•ral•ship′, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

admiral / ˈædmərəl/ noun

1. the supreme commander of a fleet or navy
2. Also called: admiral of the fleet, fleet admiral a naval officer of the highest rank, equivalent to general of the army or field marshal
3. a senior naval officer entitled to fly his or her own flag
   See also rear admiral, vice admiral
4. the master of a fishing fleet
5. any of various nymphalid butterflies, esp the red admiral or white admiral

Etymology: 13th Century: amyral, from Old French amiral emir, and from Medieval Latin admīrālis (the spelling with d probably influenced by admīrābilis admirable); both from Arabic amīr emir, commander, esp in the phrase amīr-al commander of, as in amīr-al-bahr commander of the sea

ˈadmiralˌship noun