marine engineer

American

noun

an officer who operates, maintains, and repairs the machinery of a ship.

marine engineer British

noun

an engineer responsible for all heavy machinery on a ship or an offshore structure

"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

Etymology

Origin of marine engineer

First recorded in 1930–35

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.

“The job is to wipe oil that’s leaking out of an engine,” says marine engineer turned entrepreneur Steven Henderson.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

“In general, there are insufficient data about microplastics concentration in the ocean,” says University of Michigan marine engineer and study coauthor Yulin Pan.

From Scientific American • May 5, 2023

She also paid the educational fees for the first marine engineer officer from Mauritius.

From BBC • Sep. 3, 2022

However, it was his collaboration with the marine engineer Fortescue Flannery that led to the company’s domination of the burgeoning oil trade.

From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2021

He held his certificate as a highly qualified marine engineer.

From Out To Win The Story of America in France by Dawson, Coningsby

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023