1
as in supervising
to be in charge of
if you do well on this, you'll be asked to captain the next mission
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in governing
to exercise authority or power over
captained the project for a few days while the boss was out of town
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in leading
to serve as leader of
you did a good job of captaining the team
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of captaining
The youth-team graduate has been a big part of Athletic’s successes in recent years under coach Ernesto Valverde, even captaining the team on occasion from the back.
—
Colin Millar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Co-captaining the Time Bandit, the veteran fishermen kicked off a modern-day gold rush — but the race for the rare crab took a dangerous turn when chaos erupted aboard the Titan Explorer and forced Captain Jake Anderson’s crew to abandon ship.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025
From being seen as a rugby reject to captaining an NFL team and winning a Super Bowl, Mailata’s story is proof that with dedication and hard work, international athletes can reach the pinnacle of American football.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Around the same time, Emily Bode’s father was captaining his high school football team, which inspired her to choose the silhouette for the collaboration and heavily influenced the retro aesthetic of the marketing.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Colin Millar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Co-captaining the Time Bandit, the veteran fishermen kicked off a modern-day gold rush — but the race for the rare crab took a dangerous turn when chaos erupted aboard the Titan Explorer and forced Captain Jake Anderson’s crew to abandon ship.
—Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025
From being seen as a rugby reject to captaining an NFL team and winning a Super Bowl, Mailata’s story is proof that with dedication and hard work, international athletes can reach the pinnacle of American football.
—Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Around the same time, Emily Bode’s father was captaining his high school football team, which inspired her to choose the silhouette for the collaboration and heavily influenced the retro aesthetic of the marketing.
—Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captaining
Verb
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As the film starts, Maria is first met supervising a class trip to the local cider factory owned by local burgher Frank (Sean Gilder), whose daughter Pauline (Nia Brown) is in Maria’s class.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
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Talent shifts from large sets of tier-1 agents to a smaller set of specialists focused on supervising, handling escalations, training, and improving AI systems.—
Sanjay Srivastava,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The National Assembly lacks a clear governing majority and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) seems ever closer to finally winning power.—
Cole Stangler,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
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Purpose trusts have been around for decades as part of the arcane laws governing how estates are managed.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Pictured below, director/actor/executive producer Jason Bateman and his co-star Jude Law are in the clinch of a classic big-time Hollywood-leading-man wattage-throwdown.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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In Egypt, pro-government news outlets already have trumpeted the case as proof that Soliman was leading a secret Brotherhood cell in America.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Bills are coming off a season in which Allen earned MVP honors — ahead of Jackson — while overseeing an offense that finished second in the NFL in scoring.—
Associated press,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
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Farhana Bhula, Director of Film4 and Alice Whittemore, Development & Production Executive are overseeing the project for Film4.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The ruling party won more than twice as many votes as its closest competitor, meaning the government can see through its pro-fossil fuel agenda.—
Matthew Martin,
semafor.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Millennials are currently ruling the tech industry and clinging to their roles as the economy is rocked by uncertainty due to tariffs, inflation increases living expenses, and AI swipes jobs.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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During his first six-year House tenure, Democrats held commanding majorities in the midst of the party’s 40 years straight in control of the chamber.—
David Mark,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
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The cases were largely led by the commanding figure of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, appointed to the court by a conservative president in 2017, whose stance against Bolsonaro and his allies was celebrated by the left and denounced by the right as political persecution.—
Ricardo Brito,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Best Friend Forever is handling world sales.—
Christopher Vourlias,
Variety,
6 Sep. 2025
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Anton is handling worldwide rights and co-repping North American rights with UTA Independent Film Group and Cinetic.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
6 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For many leaders, the most significant shift in leadership is not about managing bigger projects or larger teams.—
Matthew C. Meade,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
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Despite daunting market conditions, America’s youngest generation of adults is managing to break into the housing market in growing numbers.—
Sara Chernikoff,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Captaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captaining. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.
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