Illustration of boss
- boss 1c
plural bosses
1
: a person who exercises control or authority
union bosses
a mafia boss
specifically
: one who directs or supervises workers
asking your boss for a raise
2
politics
: someone who controls votes in a party organization or dictates appointments or legislative measures
standing up to the party bosses
3
: a major antagonist in a game (such as a video game or board game) and usually one that must be overcome in order for a player to progress
At the start of each level players have 30 minutes to run around and beat the boss of the level.—
GameRant.com
GameRant.comIt's a hard game, with a hard final boss, and watching video of people defeating it is so, so sweet.—Cameron Kunzelman
—often used before another nounCameron Kunzelmana boss fight/battle
boss characters
bossed; bossing; bosses
1
: to give usually arbitrary orders to
—usually used with around
Quit bossing me around.
2
: to exercise control or authority over : to act as boss (see boss entry 1) of
need someone to boss that job
slang
: excellent, first-rate
a boss new rock band
1
a
: a raised ornamentation (as on a belt or shield) : stud
b
: an ornamental projecting block used in architecture
c
: a protuberant part or body
a boss of granite
a boss on an animal's horn
2
: a soft pad used in ceramics and glassmaking
3
: the hub of a propeller
bossed; bossing; bosses
1
: to embellish (something, such as a belt or shield) with a raised decoration : to ornament with bosses (see boss entry 4) : emboss
a bossed book cover
2
: to treat (something, such as the surface of porcelain) with a boss
Did you know?
The Dutch settlements in North America all came under English rule in the 1660s and 1670s, but Dutch continued to be spoken in the region long afterward. In American English, the lexical heritage of the Dutch colonies includes dope, stoop (meaning “porch”), and Santa Claus. Perhaps the most pervasive Dutch loanword is boss, from the Dutch baas, meaning “master.” The word first appears in the form boss in 1806, used by Washington Irving. Part of its success seems to have resulted from an American aversion to master, which was common in British use.
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Verb (1)
Adjective
- A-OK
- A1
- awesome
- bang-up
- banner
- beautiful
- blue-chip
- blue-ribbon
- boffo
- bonny [chiefly British]
- bonnie
- brag
- brave
- bully
- bumper
- capital
- choice
- classic
- cool [slang]
- corking
- crackerjack
- cracking
- dandy
- divine
- dope [slang]
- down [slang]
- dynamite
- excellent
- fab
- fabulous
- famous
- fantabulous [slang]
- fantastic
- fine
- first-class
- first-rate
- first-string
- five-star
- four-star
- frontline
- gangbusters
- gangbuster
- gilt-edged
- gilt-edge
- gone [slang]
- grand
- great
- groovy
- heavenly
- high-class
- hot
- hype [slang]
- immense
- jim-dandy
- keen
- lovely
- marvelous
- marvellous
- mean
- neat
- nifty
- noble
- number one
- No. 1
- numero uno
- out-of-sight [slang]
- par excellence
- peachy
- peachy keen
- phat [slang]
- prime
- primo [slang]
- prize
- prizewinning
- quality
- radical [slang]
- righteous [slang]
- sensational
- slick
- splendid
- stellar
- sterling
- superb
- superior
- superlative
- supernal
- swell
- terrific
- tip-top
- top
- top-notch
- top-of-the-line
- top-shelf
- topflight
- topping [chiefly British]
- unsurpassed
- wizard [chiefly British]
- wonderful
Examples of boss in a Sentence
Adjective
a boss new rock band
that's a really boss stereo you've got
Recent Examples on the WebJuan A. Ramírez, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Google was originally known for its open internal culture, where employees could access the work documents of other teams and were encouraged to question decisions made by their bosses.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
During closing arguments, Michelle Logan-Stern of the California Department of Justice, who is defending State Parks and Brody, laid out a counter-narrative in which Alba came up short at work and tried to undermine his bosses.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The lyrical lambasting was not lost on one of Diddy’s chief hip-hop mogul antagonists, 50 Cent, who has been relentlessly trolling the former Revolt boss over his legal issues in his signature snarky social posts.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024
The traditionally press-shy Viagogo boss has been going on the offensive in recent months as the group faces the existential threat of a price cap on ticket resales, which would crush its business model.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 15 Apr. 2024
Lee’s joie de vivre infects her co-workers and bosses, who likewise begin to think that loneliness is something to be felt rather than effaced.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Controlling for other factors, the results tended to show bosses preferring to promote and give raises to the worker who showed up to the office every day.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 5 Apr. 2024
Here was a less varnished landscape of avatars — for our co-workers, bosses, neighbors, acquaintances, hookups, bad dates and in-laws.
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
In August of that year, Mattson Tomlin boarded to co-write with Reeves, and in late January 2023, DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran gave the film a title and date of Oct. 3, 2025.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
As Fred Friendly, Murrow's co-producer and friend, Clooney playfully and respectfully bosses his employees around, giving a satisfying symmetry to his role on set and his character in the film.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2023
Just avoid the temptation to boss other people around, as that could turn them off of your good advice.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024
Built in the adult-content creators’ image, the selfie-generating chatbots let viewers boss them around at all hours.
—Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
After Lost Kingdom, DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran will launch their own universe.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2023
Continuing her high-octane revitalizations of past hits, Demi Lovato is ready to boss herself up.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 18 Aug. 2023
Putin’s hubris is a lesson for all modern autocrats who are considering bossing around and humiliating their most powerful officials: Messiness doesn’t always equal loyalty.
—Ben Makuch, The New Republic, 26 July 2023
Sabrina Eaton, cleveland, 6 Nov. 2020
This excludes things like putting in legendaries for end of mission rewards or taking them out of non-boss chests.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
Noun
The play is about a 20-something woman named Jordan (Naomi Lorrain), the only Black employee at a creative studio, whose office life is upended when her boss hires another Jordan (Toby Onwumere), who’s also Black, to be the company’s director of culture.
—Juan A. Ramírez, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
Google was originally known for its open internal culture, where employees could access the work documents of other teams and were encouraged to question decisions made by their bosses.
—Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 18 Apr. 2024
During closing arguments, Michelle Logan-Stern of the California Department of Justice, who is defending State Parks and Brody, laid out a counter-narrative in which Alba came up short at work and tried to undermine his bosses.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
The lyrical lambasting was not lost on one of Diddy’s chief hip-hop mogul antagonists, 50 Cent, who has been relentlessly trolling the former Revolt boss over his legal issues in his signature snarky social posts.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 15 Apr. 2024
The traditionally press-shy Viagogo boss has been going on the offensive in recent months as the group faces the existential threat of a price cap on ticket resales, which would crush its business model.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 15 Apr. 2024
Lee’s joie de vivre infects her co-workers and bosses, who likewise begin to think that loneliness is something to be felt rather than effaced.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
Controlling for other factors, the results tended to show bosses preferring to promote and give raises to the worker who showed up to the office every day.
—Ryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 5 Apr. 2024
Here was a less varnished landscape of avatars — for our co-workers, bosses, neighbors, acquaintances, hookups, bad dates and in-laws.
—Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
Certainly, the Sino-Russian relationship is not without its strains, and existing tensions may be exacerbated as China grows more confident and is tempted to start bossing around the Russians in a more heavy-handed way—something that no ruler in Moscow would take lightly.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
In August of that year, Mattson Tomlin boarded to co-write with Reeves, and in late January 2023, DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran gave the film a title and date of Oct. 3, 2025.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Mar. 2024
As Fred Friendly, Murrow's co-producer and friend, Clooney playfully and respectfully bosses his employees around, giving a satisfying symmetry to his role on set and his character in the film.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2023
Just avoid the temptation to boss other people around, as that could turn them off of your good advice.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 23 Jan. 2024
Built in the adult-content creators’ image, the selfie-generating chatbots let viewers boss them around at all hours.
—Drew Harwell, Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2023
After Lost Kingdom, DC Studios bosses James Gunn and Peter Safran will launch their own universe.
—Aaron Couch, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Oct. 2023
Continuing her high-octane revitalizations of past hits, Demi Lovato is ready to boss herself up.
—Stephen Daw, Billboard, 18 Aug. 2023
Putin’s hubris is a lesson for all modern autocrats who are considering bossing around and humiliating their most powerful officials: Messiness doesn’t always equal loyalty.
—Ben Makuch, The New Republic, 26 July 2023
Adjective
Binning notes that Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of the Niles area, a former Traficant aide who won his ex-boss' congressional seat, was re-elected Tuesday by his smallest-ever margin, defeating GOP former state legislator Christina Hagan by 7.5 percentage points.
—Sabrina Eaton, cleveland, 6 Nov. 2020
This excludes things like putting in legendaries for end of mission rewards or taking them out of non-boss chests.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'boss.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near boss
Cite this Entry
“Boss.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boss. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boss
2 of 5 verb
: to ornament with bosses : emboss
boss
3 of 5 nounˈbȯs
1
: the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells workers what to do
2
: the head of a group
especially
: a powerful politician who controls party business
boss
adjective
boss
4 of 5 verb1
: to be in charge of
boss a job
2
: to give orders to
don't boss me around
boss
5 of 5 adjective
slang
Etymology
Noun
Middle English boce "raised rounded part," from early French boce (same meaning)
Noun
from Dutch baas "master"
Medical Definition
boss
noun
: a protuberant part or body
a boss on an animal's horn
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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