Synonyms

seafarer

American

[see-fair-er] / ˈsiˌfɛər ər /

noun

a sailor.
a traveler on the sea.

seafarer British

/ ˈsiːˌfɛərə /

noun

a traveller who goes by sea
a less common word for sailor

"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 seafarer

First recorded in 1505–15; sea + fare ( def. ) + -er ¹ ( def. )

Vocabulary lists containing seafarer

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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.

One email seen by AFP came from a seafarer asking to confirm whether his salary would go from $16 a day to $32 because he was in a designated war zone.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

"I used to be a seafarer, and I didn't want to carry on on ships, but to do something similar. I thought this would align pretty well with the skills that I've got."

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2026

Note: The Maritime Administration stopped publishing seafarer data in 2000.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

Popular images, such as the fearless adventurer, powerful fighter and skilled seafarer, have become familiar.

From Science Daily • Nov. 23, 2025

I felt like a seafarer who has located the northern star and set his course from that shining point.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

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