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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of captaining
Tunisia manager Sabri Lamouchi has left out Ferjani Sassi from his World Cup squad despite the midfielder captaining the side as recently as January this year.
—
Jessica Hopkins, New York Times, 15 May 2026
That changed this year, though, as Ledbetter is captaining a four-member charity team, the institute’s first ever crew of marathon runners.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the man captaining the boat that gets her into the Amazon is possessed by thoughts of a lost love, a story even a head-in-her-hands Tereza is exhausted by.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Apr. 2026
However, Brady, alongside Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts, is captaining one of the teams.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Bryk was introduced in Season 1 as Ebon, a rough-around-the-edges Boston guy who spends his summers among the blue-blooded elite, captaining a charter boat for senators and celebrities.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
Mikael Granlund didn’t play for the Ducks after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Mikael Granlund didn't play for Anaheim after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan.
—CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Aaron Benjamin, 30, drowned on February 19 while solo-captaining a raft in Hance Rapid, a formidable section of the Colorado River.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 23 Feb. 2026
Jessica Hopkins, New York Times, 15 May 2026
That changed this year, though, as Ledbetter is captaining a four-member charity team, the institute’s first ever crew of marathon runners.
—Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 16 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, the man captaining the boat that gets her into the Amazon is possessed by thoughts of a lost love, a story even a head-in-her-hands Tereza is exhausted by.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 3 Apr. 2026
However, Brady, alongside Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Hurts, is captaining one of the teams.
—Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 11 Mar. 2026
Bryk was introduced in Season 1 as Ebon, a rough-around-the-edges Boston guy who spends his summers among the blue-blooded elite, captaining a charter boat for senators and celebrities.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Mar. 2026
Mikael Granlund didn’t play for the Ducks after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2026
Mikael Granlund didn't play for Anaheim after captaining Finland to bronze in Milan.
—CBS News, 26 Feb. 2026
Aaron Benjamin, 30, drowned on February 19 while solo-captaining a raft in Hance Rapid, a formidable section of the Colorado River.
—Owen Clarke, Outside, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for captaining
Verb
-
Griswold's office is responsible for supervising Colorado's elections and maintaining the statewide file of voter registrations.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
-
Leaders increasingly must learn how to orchestrate systems rather than simply manage processes—from supervising individual workflows to coordinating intelligent networks, and from controlling static operations to adapting continuously evolving environments.—
Mira Tzur,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
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At the same time, only one in five companies has a mature model for governing autonomous AI agents, even as agentic AI usage is poised to rise sharply, per the same report.—
Shiv Kaushik,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
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Reliance on external infrastructure therefore risks leaving African countries dependent not only on foreign technology providers, but on foreign legal frameworks governing sensitive health information.—
Francisca Mutapi,
semafor.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
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Both teams were shorthanded, as Indiana star Aliyah Boston missed her first WNBA game due to a lower right leg injury, and Storm forward and leading scorer Dominique Malonga missed her first game this season due to a concussion.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
The leading 10 players come from seven countries, four of them major champions.—
Doug Ferguson,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
Verb
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Now, satellites are capable of overseeing the battlefield from hundreds of miles in space.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
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Now, overseeing the most important central bank in the world is a tough gig under the best of circumstances.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Weinstein was first convicted in early 2020 of third-degree rape involving Mann, but a New York state appeals court overturned the conviction in 2024, ruling that the judge had improperly allowed testimony about allegations not directly tied to the case.—
Adam Reiss,
NBC news,
15 May 2026
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After a private discussion, which lasted about 10 minutes, the two leaders walked through the gardens of Zhongnanhai, a walled government compound where top officials from the ruling Communist Party live and work.—
Anniek Bao,
CNBC,
15 May 2026
Verb
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But the Knicks are now commanding favorites in the East, having swept the 76ers in the conference semis.—
Alex Kirshner,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
-
And the end came well before midnight, with goals by Mitch Marner and Brett Howden in the first 8½ minutes giving Vegas a commanding lead before many in the late-arriving weeknight crowd had made it to their seats at the Honda Center.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
14 May 2026
-
Protagonist Pictures is handling sales.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Verb
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If managing cholesterol is a priority, aim to eat one cup of cooked oatmeal per day.—
Kirsten Nunez,
Martha Stewart,
17 May 2026
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That’s why the younger version of himself — that kid who arrived in NASCAR two decades ago simply wanting to drive race cars —would never have imagined owning a team or managing a company.—
Greg Engle,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Captaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/captaining. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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