noun, plural mid·ship·men.
- a student, as at the U.S. Naval Academy, in training for commission as ensign in the Navy or second lieutenant in the Marine Corps.Compare cadet(def 2).
- British Navy.
- an officer of the rank held by young men immediately upon graduating from the government naval schools.
- (initial capital letter)the title and rank of such a graduate.
- (formerly) one of a class of boys or young men who formed the group from which officers were chosen.
- Also called singingfish. any toadfish of the genus Porichthys, having many small luminous organs on the underside and producing a buzzing sound with its air bladder.
noun plural -men
- a probationary rank held by young naval officers under training, or an officer holding such a rank
- any of several American toadfishes of the genus Porichthys, having small light-producing organs on the undersurface of their bodies
n.c.1600, so called because he was stationed amidships when on duty (see amid).