mariner

noun

mar·​i·​ner ˈmer-ə-nər 

ˈma-rə-

: a person who navigates or assists in navigating a ship : seaman, sailor

Did you know?

In Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an old seaman tells of how, by shooting a friendly albatross, he had brought storms and disaster to his ship, and how as punishment his shipmates hung the great seabird around the mariner's neck and made him wear it until it rotted. The word mariner has occasionally been used to mean simply "explorer", as in the famous Mariner spaceflights in the 1960s and '70s, the first to fly close to Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

Synonyms of mariner

• sailor
• navigator

Examples of mariner in a Sentence

the ancient Phoenicians were outstanding mariners who explored and colonized much of the eastern Mediterranean

Recent Examples on the Web

Passed in 1920, the Jones Act requires that all shipments by water within the United States, including by ocean, be made on ships that are built in America, owned by American companies, and crewed by American mariners. — James Surowiecki, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026

Centcom said the operation was intended to further diminish Tehran’s ability to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz. — Joseph Wilkins,sean Conlon, CNBC, 20 July 2026

During the memorial service, some mourners cracked open cans of beer in a salute to the missing mariners. — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

My dad, a former merchant mariner and forever captain of the Wildflower, orchestrated the loading of the boat with military precision. — Lisa Liu Grady, Christian Science Monitor, 9 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin marinarius, from marinus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mariner

• mariner's compass

Kids Definition

mariner

noun

mar·​i·​ner ˈmar-ə-nər 

: one who navigates or assists in navigating a ship : sailor