sailor

[sey-ler]

noun

1. a person whose occupation is sailing or navigation; mariner.

   Synonyms: seafarer
   Antonyms: landlubber

2. a seaman below the rank of officer.

3. a naval enlistee.

4. a person adept at sailing, especially with reference to freedom from seasickness.

   He was such a bad sailor that he always traveled to Europe by plane.

5. a flat-brimmed straw hat with a low, flat crown.

sailor

/ ˈseɪlə /

noun

1. any member of a ship's crew, esp one below the rank of officer

2. a person who sails, esp with reference to the likelihood of his becoming seasick

   a good sailor

3. short for sailor hat sailor suit

Other Word Forms

• sailorlike adjective
• sailorly adjective
• nonsailor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sailor¹

First recorded in 1540–50; earlier sailer; sail, -or ²

Synonym Study

Sailor, mariner, salt, seaman, tar are terms for a person who leads a seafaring life. A sailor or seaman is one whose occupation is on board a ship at sea, especially a member of a ship's crew below the rank of petty officer: a sailor before the mast; an able-bodied seaman. Mariner is a term now found only in certain technical expressions: master mariner (captain in merchant service); mariner's compass (ordinary compass as used on ships); formerly used much as “sailor” or “seafaring man,” now the word seems elevated or quaint: Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Salt and tar are informal terms for old and experienced sailors: an old salt; a jolly tar.

Example Sentences

The Ford, the Washington Post reported, is “the world’s largest aircraft carrier, typically carrying dozens of fighter jets, numerous helicopters and more than 4,000 sailors.”

Read more on Salon

Under the deal, sailors from the Royal Australian Navy are due to be sent to US and UK submarine bases to learn how to use the nuclear-powered submarines.

Read more on BBC

Meanwhile, Del Toro amps up the action, starting the film off with a ghastly great sequence in which Elordi’s Creature punches a sailor so hard his spine snaps into a backward somersault.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The palace on Antirhodos provided a sailor’s visual introduction to Alexandria as he arrived in the harbor.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Lorenzo, a French naval sailor on an exercise in the Mediterranean who did not give his last name in line with French military custom, told AFP it was "very difficult" to shoot down a drone.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• boater 
• cadet 
• diver 
• marine 
• pilot