sailor

noun

sail·​or ˈsā-lər 

1

a

: one that sails

especially : mariner

b(1)

: a member of a ship's crew

(2)

: seaman sense 2b

2

: a traveler by water

3

: a stiff straw hat with a low flat crown and straight circular brim

Synonyms of sailor

• mariner
• navigator
• seaman

Examples of sailor in a Sentence

He worked as a sailor on a cargo ship.

the sailors were glad to be arriving in port after their long voyage

Recent Examples on the Web

North Korean state media photos showed the girl dressed in a white dress and blazer walking alongside her father on a red carpet, touring the warship and posing with sailors together. — ABC News, 6 Sep. 2026

Unlike an Olympic campaign, where sailors spend hundreds of hours every year refining technique on the water, SailGP teams get only a handful of days between events. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

The missile killed four sailors and damaged the ship’s equipment, but the crew contained the damage and the Hanit limped home. — Holmes Liao, Foreign Affairs, 4 Sep. 2026

After nine months at sea, the sailors and Marines of the USS Abraham Lincoln are trading their cargo pants and boots for shorts and flip-flops. — Sam Winslade, NBC news, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration of sailer

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing sailor

• sailor collar
• sailor's-choice
• sailor suit

Rhymes for sailor

• bailer
• bailor
• baler
• jailer
• jailor
• paler
• sailer
• scalar
• scaler
• tailor
• trailer
• whaler

Kids Definition

sailor

noun

sail·​or ˈsā-lər 

: a person who sails : seaman