swabby

American  

[swob-ee] / ˈswɒb i /

Or swabbie

noun

swabbies plural

1. Slang. (in the Navy or Coast Guard) a sailor; gob.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• swabbies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of swabby

First recorded in 1940–45; swab + -y ²

Example Sentences

The captain’s eyeball fixes on Carlyle, burning at the insubordination—a lowly swabby second-guessing his order.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

“I’m a swabby by choice,” he told me once.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

He seems a bit irritated that his authority has been undermined by the parrot and the swabby.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

How she shrank from the touch of his soft, swabby hand!

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 02, No. 08, June 1858 by Various

His mistress was also "Dutch," a "great swabby, fat woman," with a very ill disposition.

From The Underground Railroad A Record of Facts, Authentic Narratives, Letters, &c., Narrating the Hardships, Hair-Breadth Escapes and Death Struggles of the Slaves in Their Efforts for Freedom, As Related by Themselves and Others, or Witnessed by the Author. by Still, William