diver

[dahy-ver]

See more synonyms for diver on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person or thing that dives.
a person who makes a business of diving, as for pearl oysters or to examine sunken vessels.
British. a loon.

any of several other birds noted for their skill in diving.

Show More

Origin of diver

First recorded in 1500–10; dive + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

cadet marine pilot boater diver swab tarpaulin mate jack seafarer navigator mariner salt pirate bluejacket shipmate tar windjammer middy lascar

Examples from the Web for diver

Contemporary Examples

The first sighting of the oarfish was an 18-footer that surprised a diver off Catalina Island.
Fishy Mystery: Are Beached Oarfish Trying to Tell Us Something?
Kevin Bailey
October 23, 2013
Zach used to be a diver, until he scarred his chest and lost his nerve when one of his dives came down on the board.
Joseph McElroy’s ‘Cannonball’ Is the Meta Iraq War Novel
Tom LeClair
July 25, 2013
It was Haile Kifer, a gymnast and diver for Little Falls High School.
Thanksgiving Day Horror: Minnesota Teens Killed in Alleged Break-In
Matthew DeLuca
November 28, 2012
But the U.S. diver Mark Lenzi came down with perhaps the worst case of POSD.
London Athletes Face Post-Olympic Blues
Tony Doukopil
August 14, 2012
Take the case of diver Wu Minxia, who won gold for China in the 3m synchronized springboard event.
Gabby Douglas, Ryan Lochte: Why Families of America’s Olympics Athletes Are Broke
Kevin Fallon
August 7, 2012

Historical Examples

Methought I felt much as a diver might, at the bottom of the sea.
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens
"I never saw you so interested in a diver before," said the mother.
A Spirit in Prison
Robert Hichens
Schiller, in The Diver, tells the story, but gives the diver no name.
Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama
E. Cobham Brewer
Concrete was thus deposited in 18 ft. of water without a diver.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
A sailor employed at the pearl-fishery, to haul up the diver and oysters.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth

British Dictionary definitions for diver

diver

noun

a person or thing that dives
a person who works or explores underwater
Also called: loom any aquatic bird of the genus Gavia, family Gaviidae, and order Gaviiformes of northern oceans, having a straight pointed bill, small wings, and a long body: noted for swiftness and skill in swimming and divingUS and Canadian name: loon
any of various other diving birds
soccer slang a player who pretends to have been tripped or impeded by an opposing player in order to win a free kick or penalty

Show More

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 diver

n.

c.1500, agent noun from dive (v.).

Show More

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper