second mate

American

noun

the officer of a merchant vessel next in command beneath the first mate.

second mate British

noun

Also called: second officer. the next in command of a merchant vessel after the first mate

"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

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second mate

The second mate was much more elusive and he was much more aggressive toward me.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023

As second mate, Elizabeth Neumyer was one of the top officers on the Golden Bear during the voyage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2023

Soon, the second mate of the ship behind the Ever Given, Ernest J. Caponegro, lost sight of its distinctive forest-green hull.

From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2021

The Firefly’s second mate Zoë Washburne is left with a choice: abandon her captain and deliver their volatile cargo, or rescue Mal.

From The Verge ● Nov. 20, 2018

Lac recognized the crew of the Current of Faith now: Horse, the enormous carpenter with the bandanna tied around his forehead; Meeks, the dreadlocked, story-loving second mate...

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

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