ordinary seaman

American  

noun

1. a seaman insufficiently skilled to be classified as an able-bodied seaman. O.D., O.S., o.s.

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ordinary seaman British  

noun

1. a seaman of the lowest rank, being insufficiently experienced to be an able-bodied seaman

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Etymology

Origin of ordinary seaman

First recorded in 1695–1705

Example Sentences

Freud served briefly in World War II as an ordinary seaman.

From New York Times • Jan. 18, 2021

He worked as an ordinary seaman in Cleveland when he was 19, then as a cabdriver and substitute mail carrier in New York.

From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2017

In March 1941 Freud signed on as an ordinary seaman on the armed merchant cruiser SS Baltrover, bound for Nova Scotia.

From The Guardian • Jul. 21, 2011

He is the son of a chief petty officer in the Royal Navy, entered it himself as an ordinary seaman in the war, rose to lieutenant.

From Time Magazine Archive

“A sailor? A common sailor? A common ordinary seaman bests the great Inigo Montoya with the sword? In-con-ceiv-a-ble. He must be the Dread Pirate Roberts. Otherwise it makes no sense.”

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman