sailor Definition
sailor (sā′lər)
noun
- a person who makes a living by sailing; mariner; seaman
- an enlisted man in the navy
- any person in the navy
- a person sailing on a vessel, as affected by seasickness a good or bad sailor
- a straw hat with a low, flat crown and flat brim
Etymology: ME sailer
sailor Synonyms
sailor
n.
A seafaring man
seaman, mariner, seafarer, pirate, navigator, pilot, boatman, matelot (French), yachtsman, able-bodied seaman, A.B.*, Jack Tar*, tar*, hearty*, sea-dog*, limey*, shellback*, lascar*, salt*, bluejacket*. * Kinds and ranks of sailors include --- crew: deck hand, stoker, bakehead*, boilerman, cabin boy, yeoman, purser, ship's carpenter, cooper, tailor, steward, navigator, signalman, gunner, torpedoman, watch, afterguard; officers: captain, commander, skipper*, navigating officer, deck officer, officer of the deck (OD), watch officer, first mate, second mate, third mate, boatswain's mate, boatswain, bos'n*.
A member of the sailing or naval forces
navy man, marine, midshipman, naval cadet, coastguardsman, Navy Seal, frogman, seabee*, bluejacket*, gob*, leatherneck*, middy*.
sailor Usage Examples
Converse of object
- shipwreck: Almost frantically, like a shipwrecked sailor calling up a bottled genie, Geller strokes the fork, waiting for the miraculous to happen.
- cruise: We have a range of products for the cruising sailor, ranging from the Cruising Almanac to rugby shirts adorned with CA logos.
- kill: The British ships sank 4 of the German cruisers and killed 2,200 sailors, including the German commander Admiral Spree.
Preposition: on
voyage: For centuries scurvy had been the scourge of sailors on long voyages.
Adjective modifier
- drunken: Two drunken sailors in the audience last night said their singing sounded like a couple of parrots fighting.
- experienced: In the regatta fleet, for the less experienced sailors, there were 43 entries.
- Portuguese: The indigenous population were easy fodder for an Armada of Portuguese sailors.
- accomplished: Mike Sanderson is one of the most accomplished young sailors in the world.
- keen: In his spare time he is a keen sailor.
- Olympic: This class has been a stepping-stone for many Olympic sailors world-wide.
Modifies a noun
- hat: He looks so smart in his sailor hat and collar.
- suit: On a lighter note, would John really have worn sailor suits for five or more years?
- lad: One day him and Nelson were boxing, The compass, like sailor lads do.
- collar: Short sleeved with wrap detail sailor collar at the front, trimmed at the ends with matching covered buttons.
- outfit: She is also strong, opinionated, plays by her owns rules and she wears a sailor outfit.
Noun used with modifier
- dinghy: Designed for dinghy sailors Dinghy sailing vests that are designed to make movement around the boat easy.
- optimist: The optimist sailors dutifully paddled out through the shark barrier, drifted about on the tide for an hour and then paddled back in.
- round-the-world: Drive and determination are vitally important ingredients for any competitive sportsman and especially a round-the-world sailor.
- novice: As a novice sailor, my only experience with yachts involved sunbathing on them and scuba diving off them.
- merchant: It also took off the British merchant sailors who had been captured, by December over 300 of them.

