stevedore

American  

[stee-vi-dawr, -dohr] / ˈsti vɪˌdɔr, -ˌdoʊr /

noun

1. a firm or individual engaged in the loading or unloading of a vessel.

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verb (used with object)

stevedored, stevedoring

1. to load or unload the cargo of (a ship).

verb (used without object)

stevedored, stevedoring

1. to load or unload a vessel.

stevedore British  

/ ˈstiːvɪˌdɔː /

noun

1. a person employed to load or unload ships

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verb

1. to load or unload (a ship, ship's cargo, etc)

Etymology

Origin of stevedore

1780–90, < Spanish estibador, equivalent to estib ( ar ) to pack, stow ( see steeve ¹) + -ador -ator

Explanation

You can call a dock worker who loads cargo onto boats a stevedore. You don't have to be named Steve to be one (the word means docker or longshoreman), but the spelling of the English given name probably influenced the modern appearance of this word, from the Spanish estivar, "to stow cargo." The ultimate root is the Latin word stipare, "pack down or press," and the archaic English verb steeve, or stow, is a relative.

Example Sentences

After spotting the breach, DP World, one of a handful of stevedore industry players in Australia, disconnected internet, significantly impacting freight movements, Goldie said.

From Reuters • Nov. 12, 2023

Never mind that when she sang and danced, she sounded like a bullfrog on steroids and moved like a drunken stevedore.

From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2023

The son of a stevedore, Moreno scavenged for leftover food from restaurants as a child and collected scrap bottles and newspapers for money, according to the mayor’s website.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 21, 2021

Attucks was a stevedore, or dock worker, killed by British soldiers at the Boston Massacre in 1770.

From Salon • Jun. 28, 2020

Though not as tall or physically commanding as Bull’s, Captain Brannon’s body was stacked together with the knotted muscles of a stevedore, and an implied menace shadowed his whole appearance.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy