longshoreman
Americannoun
-
longshoremen
plural
noun
Usage
What does longshoreman mean? A longshoreman is a person who works loading and unloading shipping vessels at a dock. A longshoreman can also be called a docker or dockworker. The work of a longshoreman is called longshoring. Although the profession has traditionally been done primarily by men, women also do the job, and one can be called a longshorewoman, a woman longshoreman, or a female longshoreman. Example: When I worked as a longshoreman, I made good money, but the work was exhausting.
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of longshoreman
Explanation
A person who works loading and unloading vessels in a harbor is a longshoreman. Many modern longshoremen use cranes and forklifts to move containers on and off container ships. Other words for this job are stevedore and dockworker. The term longshoreman, commonly used in the U.S. and Canada, was derived from man-along-the-shore or man alongshore. Still, any laborer who moves goods onto or off of a ship can be called a longshoreman, even if they're not a man. There aren't as many of these jobs today as there once were, but there are still more than 100,000 longshoremen who work in dozens of U.S. ports.
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.
See Examples For:
Jordan Gonzales, a 20-year longshoreman, expressed worries about the future of trade work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
John Montagna is ready to move into a new RV park in the Green Meadows West section of Harbor City, near his job as a longshoreman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2025
When longshoreman Herald Ugles started working the Seattle docks in 1980, he reckons roughly half the cargo loaded was in containers, and the other half was breakbulk.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2022
He quit school and left home in his mid-teens, working as a dishwasher and longshoreman, among other jobs, to save money for acting school.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2022
She grabbed a passing longshoreman by the sleeve.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Nearly half of the longshoremen who support operations at the Los Angeles port went without work over the last two weeks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2025
Over the last 25 work shifts, only 733 jobs were available for 1,575 longshoremen looking for work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2025
Under the current contract, longshoremen earn a top rate of $39 an hour.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
Once the ship is removed, maritime traffic can begin returning to normal, which will provide relief for thousands of longshoremen, truckers and small business owners whose jobs have been affected by the closure.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2024
He aimed the denuded prow of the wagon toward the Algiers ferry ramp, where the longshoremen gathered in the afternoons.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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