swabber

[swob-er]

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noun

a person who uses a swab.

Slang. swab(def 6).

a swab; mop.

Origin of swabber

1585–95; < Dutch zwabber; compare Middle Low German swabben to splash in water or filth

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for swabber

cadet, marine, pilot, boater, diver, swab, tarpaulin, mate, jack, seafarer, navigator, mariner, salt, pirate, bluejacket, shipmate, tar, windjammer, middy, lascar

Examples from the Web for swabber

Historical Examples of swabber

I'm afraid the sea is too cold for me this morning, Mr. Swabber.
Mr. Punch at the Seaside
Various
There was no place on board for a 'waister,' a 'swabber,' longshoreman, or sea labourer.
Merchantmen-at-Arms
David W. Bone
Under the swabber there was a temporary rate known as the liar.
On the Spanish Main
John Masefield
For the duty even of a swabber, he does not consider himself too high, but washes the deck most delicately clean.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 377, March 1847
Various

British Dictionary definitions for swabber

swabber

noun

a person who uses a swab

a device designed for swabbing

slang an uncouth fellow

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