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

I was really very, very elated and delighted and excited when I did see that second mate.

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2023

Settling into Key West, he worked as second mate on a fishing charter while playing barrooms at night.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2023

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

The ship’s first and second mate had plotted to maroon their captain in Whitehaven and sail back to New England.

From Washington Post ● May 1, 2017

A teller of tales if there ever was one, the second mate could soak up a story and wring it out later word for word, and he was always happy to oblige.

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