first sergeant

noun

1
: a noncommissioned officer serving as the chief assistant to the commander of a military unit (such as a company or squadron)
2
: the rank of a first sergeant
specifically : a rank in the army above a sergeant first class and below a sergeant major and in the marine corps above a gunnery sergeant and below a master gunnery sergeant

Examples of first sergeant 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.
A day later, Vitalii Piasetskyi, a first sergeant in Ukraine’s 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, described similar activity in Donetsk Oblast. — Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026 Stan Karboski, first sergeant of a Ranger Battalion in World War II and now in the farm supply business in nearby Parish, could pick up a canoe like a veteran voyageur. — Marc Terziev, Outdoor Life, 25 June 2026 Mara Virginia Schmid and Franco Paolo Ormaechea — a scientist and first sergeant from Argentina, respectively — were stationed at the Esperanza Base in Antarctica in 2014. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 30 Apr. 2026 He was posthumously promoted to the rank of first sergeant, according to the Israeli government. — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 26 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for first sergeant

Word History

First Known Use

1776, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of first sergeant was in 1776

Rhymes for first sergeant

See All Rhymes for first sergeant

Browse Nearby Words

first-run
first sergeant
first slip
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“First sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/first%20sergeant. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

first sergeant

noun
1
: a noncommissioned officer who is the chief assistant to a military commander
2
: a noncommissioned officer with the rank just below sergeant major in the army and the marines
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All