second-in-command

1. 1.

   someone who relieves a commander

   Broaderdeputy

Questions about second-in-command

What does second-in-command mean?

second-in-command means "someone who relieves a commander".

How many syllables are in second-in-command?

second-in-command has 5 syllables and divides as se-con-d-in--com-mand under the regular spelling rules. It is not in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, so that comes from how the word is written rather than from a recorded pronunciation, and no stress or phonetic transcription is claimed for it.

Is second-in-command a common word?

second-in-command is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.