Meaning & use
stevedore
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A worker at a port who loads cargo onto ships or takes it off.
Grammar: Countable: stevedores unloaded the ship.
Patterns
- work as a stevedore
His grandfather worked as a stevedore on the docks for thirty years.
Stevedores unloaded crates of fruit from the ship.
The stevedores went on strike for better pay.
nouncountablebusiness
A person or company that organizes and manages the loading and unloading of ships.
Grammar: A business meaning: a stevedore company.
Patterns
- a stevedore company
The shipping line hired a stevedore to handle the cargo.
A stevedore company runs the container terminal.
The stevedore was fined for delays at the berth.
Word forms
| plural | stevedores |
|---|
Common combinations
- work as a stevedore
- He worked as a stevedore before becoming a union leader.
- a stevedore union
- The stevedore union demanded a safety review.
- stevedores unload
- Stevedores unloaded the cargo at dawn.
- stevedore company
- The stevedore company hired extra crews for the holiday rush.
- a dockside stevedore
- A dockside stevedore shouted instructions to the crane operator.
Synonyms and how they differ
- longshoreman
- Longshoreman is the common American term for a dock worker and is more everyday than stevedore.
- docker
- Docker is the usual British word and is less formal.
- dockworker
- Dockworker is the plain modern word and is neutral in tone.
- porter
- A porter carries bags or goods in stations and hotels, not on ships.
Word family
- stevedoring noun
- the work of loading and unloading ships
- dock noun
- a structure where ships tie up
- stow verb
- to pack or store carefully, especially on a ship
Commonly confused: stevedore or stevedore? stevedore or matador?
stevedore vs stevedore
Stevedore is often mistaken for a surname because of the first part, but it is only a job title.
stevedore vs matador
Matador sounds similar but means a bullfighter.
Practice
At the port, a ____ spent the morning loading crates onto the freighter.
Choose one answer.
A stevedore loads and unloads ships at a dock. A sommelier serves wine, a surveyor measures land and a sculptor makes statues.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stevedore”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.