Meaning & use

bosun

noun·Advanced

A ship's officer responsible for equipment, rigging, and supervising the deck crew; short for boatswain.

See it in a sentence

The bosun inspected the ropes and anchors before the ship left the harbor.

Sailors listened for the bosun's whistle, which signaled the start of each drill.

A note on using this word

Bosun is the common spoken and informal spelling of 'boatswain,' reflecting how the word is actually pronounced.

Words with a similar meaning

boatswain

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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