ordinary seaman

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noun

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

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Origin of ordinary seaman

First recorded in 1695–1705

Words nearby ordinary seaman

Ordinary level, ordinary life insurance, ordinary point, ordinary rating, ordinary ray, ordinary seaman, ordinary share, ordinary shares, ordinary stock, ordinary wave, ordinate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ordinary seaman in a sentence

There was nothing out of the ordinary, but for the fact that Jim was gay.
I Was Gang Raped at a UVA Frat 30 Years Ago, and No One Did Anything|Liz Seccuro|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Rizzoli in New York City was no ordinary bookstore in its seventies heyday.
The Bookstore That Bewitched Mick Jagger, John Lennon, and Greta Garbo|Felice Picano|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They refused to believe that ordinary humans could beat them at their own game.
‘Asteroids’ & The Dawn of the Gamer Age|David Owen|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At the White House on Monday, Obama praised Hagel as “no ordinary secretary of defense.”
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“My experience was very ordinary, but very privileged,” she said.
Women Share Their Secret Abortion Stories For 1 in 3 Campaign|Brandy Zadrozny|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bacteria, when present in great numbers, give a uniform cloud which cannot be removed by ordinary filtration.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
All the ordinary subjects in schools have been taught over and over again millions and millions of times.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
In one sense, then, the new issue has adequate expansibility for ordinary needs.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
When ordinary methods do not suffice, it can usually be cleared by shaking up with a little magnesium carbonate and filtering.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
It behaves the same as glucose with all the ordinary tests, and can be distinguished only by polarization.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd

British Dictionary definitions for ordinary seaman

ordinary seaman

noun

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

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