Ensign

/ˈɛn.sɪn/ · noun

Meaning

A badge of office, rank, or power..

Definitions by Sense

1. A badge of office, rank, or power.
2. The lowest grade of commissioned officer in the United States Navy, junior to a lieutenant junior grade.
3. A flag or banner carried by military units; a standard or color/colour.
4. (nautical) The principal flag or banner flown by a ship (usually at the stern) to indicate nationality.
5. Any prominent flag or banner.
6. (historical) A junior commissioned officer in the 18th and 19th centuries whose duty was to carry the unit's ensign.
7. (obsolete) To designate as by an ensign.
8. To distinguish by a mark or ornament.

Example Sentences

The Ensigns of our Power about we bear; / And every Land pays Tribute to the Fair.

The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy.

Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still,

But Alcibiades swiftly ran up the Athenian ensign on his flagship and bore down on that part of the Peloponnesian fleet which held the advantage and was pursuing the Athenians.

Ten thousand thousand ensigns high advanced.

HENRY but ioyn’d the Roses, that ensign’d / Particular families, but this hath ioyn’d / The Rose and Thistle,

Any charge which has a crown immediately above or upon it, is said to be ensigned.

Synonyms for ensign

Antonyms for ensign

Related Words

Word Forms

• ensigns
• ensigning
• ensigned

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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