BOSUN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does bosun mean? 

• BOSUN (noun)
  The noun BOSUN has 1 sense:

1. a petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen

  Familiarity information: BOSUN used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BOSUN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A petty officer on a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

bo's'n; bo'sun; boatswain; bos'n; bosun

Hypernyms ("bosun" is a kind of...):

gob; Jack; Jack-tar; mariner; old salt; sea dog; seafarer; seaman; tar (a man who serves as a sailor)

 Context examples 

They tied us up—the fellow who handled me could tie like a bosun—and there we lay with our toes up, beneath a tree, while a great brute stood guard over us with a club in his hand.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)