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

See Examples For:

swabby swabbies

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

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

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

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 William Still

American swabbies dutifully rescued the 18 North Vietnamese crewmen.

From Time Magazine Archive

But last week some swabbies from the Cunard liner Queen Mary drifted onto a lee shore and scuttled their pride in one of the dockside saloons of Manhattan's Twelfth Avenue.

From Time Magazine Archive

In an agency of special sensitivity, Turner treated CIA officials much like swabbies on a deck detail.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hearing the lingo of South Viet Nam, the dogfaces, gyrenes and swabbies of World War II would hardly know Dodge City from the Boonies.

From Time Magazine Archive

And the theatrical skull sings, “Storm fronts that linger upon the horizon; white plastic places where every thought dies in; swabbies and cocktails and parrots' bright wings; these are a few of his least-favorite things.”

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman