From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlieutenantlieu‧ten‧ant /lefˈtenənt $ luːˈten-/ noun [countable] 1 a) PMa fairly low rank in the armed forces, or an officer of this rank b) PMa fairly high rank in the US police force, or an officer of this rank2 → lieutenant colonel/general/governor etc3 REPRESENTsomeone who does work for, or in place of, someone in a higher position SYN deputy
Examples from the Corpus
lieutenant• We parted with warm affection and I expect, someday, to hear he has been made a lieutenant.• In 1623 he was deputy lieutenant in Cambridgeshire, and in 1625, a colonel of the Suffolk regiments defending the coasts.• Matheson was appointed lord lieutenant and sheriff principal of the county of Ross in 1866.• Lapointe had been shot, and there was no gun found on the other lieutenant, Lefevre.• Then you can tell the lieutenants that.• The lieutenant bucked like a horse.• The lieutenant snorted in disgust, and strode off around the room to bully his men.• Rojas, 34, is reportedly a trusted lieutenant of Cerpa.Origin lieutenant (1300-1400) French lieu “place” + tenant “holding” 