mariner

/ˈmɛrənər/

Other forms: mariners

A mariner is someone who works on a boat or ship. A lobsterman who works alone on a small boat is a mariner, and so is the captain of an enormous cargo ship.

Mariner is a somewhat old-fashioned word for a sailor or seafarer, a person who spends most of their working life on some kind of ocean vessel. Today, you're more likely to read about mariners in an old book than to meet people who describes themselves this way. Mariner comes from the Latin word marinus, "of the sea," and its root, mare, "the sea."

Definitions of mariner

1. noun

   a person who serves as a sailor
   synonyms: Jack, Jack-tar, gob, old salt, sea dog, seafarer, seaman, tar

   types:

   able seaman, able-bodied seaman

   a seaman in the merchant marine; trained in special skills

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

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

   deckhand, roustabout

   a member of a ship's crew who performs manual labor

   helmsman, steerer, steersman

   the person who steers a ship

   bargee, bargeman, lighterman

   someone who operates a barge

   officer, ship's officer

   a person authorized to serve in a position of authority on a vessel

   pilot

   a person qualified to guide ships through difficult waters going into or out of a harbor

   sea lawyer

   an argumentative and contentious seaman

   whaler

   a seaman who works on a ship that hunts whales

   cox, coxswain

   the helmsman of a ship's boat or a racing crew

   captain, master, sea captain, skipper

   an officer who is licensed to command a merchant ship

   first mate, mate

   the officer below the master on a commercial ship

   privateer, privateersman

   an officer or crew member of a privateer

   purser

   an officer aboard a ship who keeps accounts and attends to the passengers' welfare

   navigator, sailing master

   the ship's officer in charge of navigation

   steward

   the ship's officer who is in charge of provisions and dining arrangements

   supercargo

   an officer on a merchant ship in charge of the cargo and its sale and purchase

   type of:

   crewman, sailor

   any member of a ship's crew