seaman
noun
a person skilled in seamanship.
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seaman
1 American
[see-muhn]
/ ˈsi mən /
noun
plural
seamen-
a person skilled in seamanship.
-
a person whose trade or occupation is assisting in the handling, sailing, and navigating of a ship during a voyage, especially one below the rank of officer; sailor.
-
U.S. Navy and Coast Guard. an enlisted person ranking below petty officer.
Seaman
2
American
[see-muhn]
/ ˈsi mən /
noun
seaman
British
/ ˈsiːmən /
noun
-
a rating trained in seamanship as opposed to electrical engineering, etc
-
a man who serves as a sailor
-
a person skilled in seamanship
Related Words
See sailor.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of seaman
First recorded before 900; Middle English seeman, Old English sǣmann. See sea, man
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.
"We don't have enough water on board right now. We got food a few days back," said one Indian seaman stuck in a small refuelling boat off Iraq, within sight of the Iranian shore.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
Directed by Bille August, this ‘Masterpiece’ adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas classic stars Sam Claflin as the wronged seaman and Jeremy Irons as his friend and fellow prisoner.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026
His performance as the naïve young seaman, hanged for killing an officer in self-defence, won him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a Golden Globe for Best Newcomer.
From BBC • Aug. 17, 2025
In 1985, as the Year of the Pacific approached, the ship’s captain was Peter Willcox, a lifelong seaman and conscientious objector from Vietnam who’d devoted his career to environmental action on the oceans.
From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025
“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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
