sailor
Americannoun
-
a person whose occupation is sailing or navigation; mariner.
- Synonyms:
- seafarer
- Antonyms:
- landlubber
-
a seaman below the rank of officer.
-
a naval enlistee.
-
a person adept at sailing, especially with reference to freedom from seasickness.
He was such a bad sailor that he always traveled to Europe by plane.
-
a flat-brimmed straw hat with a low, flat crown.
noun
-
any member of a ship's crew, esp one below the rank of officer
-
a person who sails, esp with reference to the likelihood of his becoming seasick
a good sailor
-
short for sailor hat sailor suit
Synonym Usage
Sailor, mariner, salt, seaman, tar are terms for a person who leads a seafaring life. A sailor or seaman is one whose occupation is on board a ship at sea, especially a member of a ship's crew below the rank of petty officer: a sailor before the mast; an able-bodied seaman. Mariner is a term now found only in certain technical expressions: master mariner (captain in merchant service); mariner's compass (ordinary compass as used on ships); formerly used much as “sailor” or “seafaring man,” now the word seems elevated or quaint: Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Salt and tar are informal terms for old and experienced sailors: an old salt; a jolly tar.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of sailor
Explanation
A sailor is someone who works on a boat or ship — either for fun, a job, or while serving in the navy. If you want to be a sailor, it's good to start by learning to swim. If you work on a cargo ship or help to pilot a schooner in the summer, you can call yourself a sailor. You're also a sailor if you learn how to sail a small boat around a lake. Even though the boats that sailors work on don't necessarily have sails, that's where the word comes from — the verb sail. Before sailor was coined in the 15th century, people used mariner and seaman.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Viewers will be on more familiar ground in 1937’s “Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves,” which demonstrates the Fleischers’ facility in working with established characters.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
The hosts then pulled themselves to within two points soon after when Sailor converted his own try to set up a tense finale.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
There was even one starring an actual supermodel, Christie Brinkley, 71, with her daughter, Sailor, who’s 27.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 14, 2026
She discovered anime like Doraemon and Sailor Moon in school when she used to spend her summer holidays in Thailand.
From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025
She’s the type who’d watch all of Sailor Moon and come away thinking Haruka and Michiru were just good friends.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
