noncommissioned officer

noun

non·com·mis·sioned officer ˌnän-kə-ˈmi-shənd-

: a subordinate officer (such as a sergeant) in the army, air force, or marine corps appointed from among enlisted personnel

Examples of noncommissioned officer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Privates and noncommissioned officers were culled from stateside divisions, trained as riflemen, and sent overseas. — Literary Hub, 14 Oct. 2025 Several who spoke were comfortable being identified only by their rank or a generic reference to their status as an officer or noncommissioned officer — but never by name, with two exceptions. — Sig Christenson, San Antonio Express-News, 17 Jan. 2022 Rachel served in the military as an enlisted soldier, noncommissioned officer, and commissioned aviation officer. — Anchorage Daily News, 17 Mar. 2022 Quornelius Radford, 28, a noncommissioned officer, turned on his fellow soldiers and shot them using his personal handgun, according to Army Brig. — Michael Loria, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for noncommissioned officer

Word History

First Known Use

1703, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of noncommissioned officer was in 1703

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

noncommissioned

noncommissioned officer

noncommitment

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Noncommissioned officer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noncommissioned%20officer. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

noncommissioned officer

noun

non·com·mis·sioned officer ˌnän-kə-ˌmish-ənd-

: an officer in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps appointed from among the enlisted personnel

noncommissioned officer

noun

Examples of noncommissioned officer in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster on noncommissioned officer

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

perfunctory

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes