swabby

American

[swob-ee] / ˈswɒb i /

Or swabbie

noun

plural

swabbies

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

Etymology

Origin of swabby

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

You love working with Joe Mantello so much that when he directed the Sting musical, “The Last Ship,” you wanted him to write you a cameo role as an asexual deckhand named Swabby.

From New York Times

We were laughing about Swabby.

From New York Times

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

From Literature

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

From Literature

Carlyle is the ship’s swabby—a guy with bright red hair in a short peach fuzz, and a smile friendlier than anyone else’s on the ship.

From Literature

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