Phrase guide

petty officer

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A non-commissioned officer in the Canadian, US and UK Navy and the US Coast Guard; roughly equivalent to a sergeant in the army

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: PO, P.O.

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: noncommissioned officer, noncom, enlisted officer

Narrower terms: master-at-arms, senior chief petty officer, SCPO

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Estonian: allohvitser — non-commissioned officer
  • Finnish: kersantti — non-commissioned officer
  • Finnish: pursimies — non-commissioned officer
  • French: maître — non-commissioned officer
  • German: Unteroffizier — non-commissioned officer
  • Italian: nostromo — non-commissioned officer
  • Italian: sottufficiale di marina — non-commissioned officer
  • Norwegian Bokmål: underoffiser — non-commissioned officer
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: underoffiser — non-commissioned officer
  • Polish: bosman — non-commissioned officer
  • Polish: starszy bosman — non-commissioned officer
  • Portuguese: suboficial — non-commissioned officer
  • Portuguese: oficial inferior — non-commissioned officer
  • Russian: у́нтер-офице́р (únter-oficér) — non-commissioned officer
  • Swedish: underofficer — non-commissioned officer