non-commissioned officer

noun

A person of authority in the military who has not received a commission (a direct conveyance of authority from the sovereign government); as such they can have charge or control but not command in the most technical use of the word.

“A platoon sergeant may only be a non-commissioned officer but he's the one his men look to when the bullets start flying.”

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Meanings

nounnon-commissioned officer (plural non-commissioned officers)

plural non-commissioned officers · alternative US noncommissioned officer · alternative NCO · alternative non-com · alternative noncom

  1. A person of authority in the military who has not received a commission (a direct conveyance of authority from the sovereign government); as such they can have charge or control but not command in the most technical use of the word.

    A platoon sergeant may only be a non-commissioned officer but he's the one his men look to when the bullets start flying.

Translations

Arabic ضابط صفّ
  • ضابط صفّperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Chinese Mandarin 士官, 軍士 /军士
  • 士官 (shìguān)person of authority in the military who has not received a commission
  • 軍士 /军士 (jūnshì)person of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Czech poddůstojník, poddůstojnice
  • poddůstojníkperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
  • poddůstojniceperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Danish underofficer
  • underofficerperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Dutch onderofficier
  • onderofficierperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Estonian allohvitser
  • allohvitserperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Finnish aliupseeri
  • aliupseeriperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
French sous-officier
  • sous-officierperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
German Unteroffizier
  • Unteroffizierperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Greek υπαξιωματικός
  • υπαξιωματικός (ypaxiomatikós)person of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Hebrew מש״ק, מפקד שאינו קצין
  • מש״קperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
  • מפקד שאינו קציןperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Hungarian altiszt, tiszthelyettes
  • altisztperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
  • tiszthelyettesperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
  • tisztesperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Indonesian bintara
  • bintaraperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Irish oifigeach neamhchoimisiúnta
  • oifigeach neamhchoimisiúntaperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Italian sottufficiale
  • sottufficialeperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Japanese 下士官
  • 下士官 (kashikan)person of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Korean 부사관
  • 부사관 (busagwan)person of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Lithuanian pùskarininkis, pùskarininkė
  • pùskarininkisperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
  • pùskarininkėperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Malay pegawai tidak tauliah
  • pegawai tidak tauliahperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Norwegian Bokmål underoffiser
  • underoffiserperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Polish podoficer
  • podoficerperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Portuguese suboficial
  • suboficialperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Romanian subofițer
  • subofițerperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Russian у́нтер-офице́р
  • у́нтер-офице́р (únter-oficér)person of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Spanish suboficial
  • suboficialperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Swedish underofficer
  • underofficerperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Turkish astsubay
  • astsubayperson of authority in the military who has not received a commission
Cite this entry
APA

non-commissioned officer. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-commissioned%20officer

MLA

“non-commissioned officer.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-commissioned%20officer. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “non-commissioned officer,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/non-commissioned%20officer.

Source: non-commissioned officer on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.