mariner

American  

[mar-uh-ner] / ˈmær ə nər /

noun

1. a person who directs or assists in the navigation of a ship; sailor.

   Synonyms:

   seafarer

2. (initial capital letter) one of a series of U.S. space probes that obtained scientific information while flying by or orbiting around the planets Mars, Mercury, and Venus.

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Mariner ¹ British  

/ ˈmærɪnə /

noun

1. any of a series of US space probes launched between 1962 and 1971 that sent back photographs and information concerning the surface of Mars and Venus and also studied interplanetary matter

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mariner ² British  

/ ˈmærɪnə /

noun

1. a formal or literary word for seaman

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Usage

What does mariner mean? A mariner is a sailor, especially a professional one. The word sailor is used much more commonly than mariner, which often sounds formal or old-fashioned. Mariner is sometimes used as a more poetic word for sailor, much like its synonym seafarer. In literature, the word is associated with its use in the title of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1798 epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, which is considered highly influential and a landmark of Romantic literature. It is in fact about a sailor. Mariner was also the name of a NASA program involving a series of probes (which were also each named Mariner along with a number) launched to gather information while orbiting Mars, Venus, and Mercury. The word also appears in the name of the Seattle Mariners baseball team—a reference to Seattle’s heritage as a port city. Example: The seaside pub was frequented by salty old mariners.

Related Words

See sailor.

Etymology

Origin of mariner

First recorded in 1250–1300 mariner for def. 1; mariner for def. 2 1960–65; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French marinier. See marine, -er ²

Example Sentences

MINNEAPOLIS—Joe Martino, a 52-year-old merchant mariner, braved swirling snow and biting winds on a recent afternoon as he walked up and down Lake Street in search of tacos.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

Sawai plays Toda Mariko, a noblewoman who is a translator between Toranaga and an English mariner in "Shōgun."

From Salon • Jan. 6, 2025

The discovery of this boat now changes our entire understanding of ancient mariner abilities.

From BBC • Jun. 20, 2024

After serving as a mariner in World War II with the Merchant Marine, he sold soda.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2024

It peered at the boy with one hand up—like a lost mariner searching for land—and exclaimed, “Ah-hah! Whom have we here, what?”

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White