warrant officer

noun

1

: an officer in the armed forces holding rank by virtue of a warrant and ranking above a noncommissioned officer and below a commissioned officer

2

: a commissioned officer ranking below an ensign in the navy or coast guard and below a second lieutenant in the marine corps

Examples of warrant officer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That’s resulted in a spike in junior warrant officers, who now make up double the share of Army pilots compared to 2016. —Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes, 4 Feb. 2025

Military and other government helicopters fly this route almost daily, according to a senior Army pilot and warrant officer. —Brie Stimson, Fox News, 1 Feb. 2025

The Pentagon is withholding the names and ranks of the Black Hawk’s crew members until next of kin are notified, Hegseth said – though National Security Adviser Mike Waltz told Fox News the crew included one officer, a warrant officer and a crew chief. —Rebekah Riess, CNN, 30 Jan. 2025

Among the missing are two mayors, two warrant officers and nine soldiers. —Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1693, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

warrant officer

noun

: a military or naval officer with any of the ranks between those of commissioned officers and those of noncommissioned officers

especially : a warrant officer of lowest rank