able seaman
Americannoun
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Also called able-bodied seaman. an experienced deck-department seaman qualified to perform routine sea duties.
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(in the British Navy and on British and U.S. merchant ships) a rating between ordinary seaman and leading seaman or boatswain's mate. A.B., AB
Etymology
Origin of able seaman
First recorded in 1695–1705
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.
Twenty lives were lost, including that of the ship's commander and a young able seaman from Wrexham.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2022
Historians said the able seaman had come from a wealthy grazing family and trained as an accountant.
From BBC ● Nov. 18, 2021
I found Joshua Maloka, a twenty-six-year-old able seaman, in the base’s chapel.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 21, 2017
As compared to a clipper ship's one able seaman for every 100 register tons, they had one to every 1,000 register tons.
From Time Magazine Archive
She wandered along the deck toward the bows, and soon made the acquaintance of an able seaman by flicking at him the pips she’d saved from the apple she’d eaten at breakfast.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
