boss

[ baws, bos ]

/ bɔs, bɒs /

noun

a person who employs or superintends workers; manager.

a politician who controls the party organization, as in a particular district.

a person who makes decisions, exercises authority, dominates, etc.: My grandfather was the boss in his family.

verb (used with object)

to be master of or over; manage; direct; control.

to order about, especially in an arrogant manner.

verb (used without object)

to be boss.

to be too domineering and authoritative.

adjective

chief; master.

Slang. first-rate.

Nearby words

Origin of boss

1640–50, Americanism; < Dutch baas master, foreman

SYNONYMS FOR boss

1. supervisor, head, foreman, chief, superintendent, administrator, overseer.

boss

[ baws, bos ]

/ bɔs, bɒs /

noun

Botany, Zoology. a protuberance or roundish excrescence on the body or on some organ of an animal or plant.

Geology. a knoblike mass of rock, especially an outcrop of igneous or metamorphic rock.

an ornamental protuberance of metal, ivory, etc.; stud.

Architecture.

an ornamental, knoblike projection, as a carved keystone at the intersection of ogives.
a stone roughly formed and set in place for later carving.

Bookbinding. one of several pieces of brass or other metal inset into the cover of a book to protect the corners or edges or for decoration.

Machinery. a small projection on a casting or forging.

Nautical. a projecting part in a ship's hull, or in one frame of a hull, fitting around a propeller shaft.

verb (used with object)

to ornament with bosses.

to emboss.

(in plumbing) to hammer (sheet metal, as lead) to conform to an irregular surface.

Origin of boss

1250–1300; Middle English boce < Anglo-French: lump, growth, boil; Old French < Vulgar Latin *bottia, of uncertain origin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bossing

"I like 'bossing' the village," said Delafield, with a laugh.
Lady Rose's Daughter|Mrs. Humphry Ward
He was bossing it, as a matter of course, and it looked as if he knew pretty well what he was about.
Harper's Young People, January 4, 1881|Various
Half a dozen Indians were at work, and Johnson was bossing them as if he had been building schoolhouses all his life.
Emerson's Wife and Other Western Stories|Florence Finch Kelly
The job he was bossing was not very intricate or important, but it was interesting.
Twelve Men|Theodore Dreiser

My uncle is acting like a stingy grouch, he answered me, and I cant stand no more his bossing me.
Hungry Hearts|Anzia Yezierska

British Dictionary definitions for bossing

bossing

/ (ˈbɒsɪŋ) /

noun

civil engineering the act of shaping malleable metal, such as lead cladding, with mallets to fit a surface

boss

/ (bɒs) informal /

noun

a person in charge of or employing others

mainly US a professional politician who controls a party machine or political organization, often using devious or illegal methods

verb

to employ, supervise, or be in charge of

(usually foll by around or about) to be domineering or overbearing towards (others)

adjective

slang excellent; finea boss hand at carpentry; that's boss!

Word Origin for boss

C19: from Dutch baas master; probably related to Old High German basa aunt, Frisian baes master

boss

/ (bɒs) /

noun

a knob, stud, or other circular rounded protuberance, esp an ornamental one on a vault, a ceiling, or a shield

biology any of various protuberances or swellings in plants and animals

an area of increased thickness, usually cylindrical, that strengthens or provides room for a locating device on a shaft, hub of a wheel, etc
a similar projection around a hole in a casting or fabricated component

an exposed rounded mass of igneous or metamorphic rock, esp the uppermost part of an underlying batholith

verb (tr)

to ornament with bosses; emboss

Word Origin for boss

C13: from Old French boce, from Vulgar Latin bottia (unattested); related to Italian bozza metal knob, swelling

boss

bossy

/ (bɒs) /

noun plural bosses or bossies

a calf or cow

Word Origin for boss

C19: from dialect buss calf, perhaps ultimately from Latin bōs cow, ox

BOSS

/ (bɒs) /

n acronym for (formerly)

Bureau of State Security; a branch of the South African security police

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bossing

boss

n.1

"overseer," 1640s, American English, from Dutch baas "a master," Middle Dutch baes, of obscure origin. If original sense was "uncle," perhaps it is related to Old High German basa "aunt," but some sources discount this theory. The Dutch form baas is attested in English from 1620s as the standard title of a Dutch ship's captain. The word's popularity in U.S. may reflect egalitarian avoidance of master (n.) as well as the need to distinguish slave from free labor. The slang adjective meaning "excellent" is recorded in 1880s, revived, apparently independently, in teen and jazz slang in 1950s.

boss

n.2

"protuberance, button," c.1300, from Old French boce "a hump, swelling, tumor" (12c., Modern French bosse), from either Frankish *botija or Vulgar Latin *bottia, both of uncertain origin.

boss

1856, from boss (n.1). Related: Bossed; bossing.

Medicine definitions for bossing

boss

[ bôs ]

n.

A circumscribed rounded swelling; a protuberance.

The prominence of a kyphosis or humpback.

boss

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of boss

boss

noun

verb (used with object)

Origin of boss

Examples from the Web for bossing

bossing

noun

boss

noun

verb

adjective

Word Origin for boss

boss

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for boss

boss

bossy

noun plural bosses or bossies

Word Origin for boss

BOSS

n acronym for (formerly)

boss

boss

boss

boss

n.