seaman

noun

sea·​man ˈsē-mən 

1

: sailor, mariner

2

a

: any of the three ranks below petty officer in the navy or coast guard

b

: an enlisted member in the navy or coast guard ranking above a seaman apprentice and below a petty officer

Synonyms of seaman

• sailor
• mariner
• navigator

Examples of seaman in a Sentence

a weathered old seaman who now captains a tour boat

Recent Examples on the Web

The seaman was patched up, and with his battleship sunk and his country abruptly at war with Japan, Germany and Italy, he was assigned to a destroyer. —Bay Area News Group, Mercury News, 8 Dec. 2025

As a girl in Minnesota, after the death of her mother, she was abandoned by her father, a Swedish seaman named Chris Christopherson. —Adrienne Miller, Vogue, 29 Oct. 2025

Davies was born in Swindon, England, in 1944 to a hairdresser and merchant navy seaman. —Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025

In 1944, Willie Wesley Thompson, a Navy seaman, saved two lives in the South Pacific. —Curtis Bunn, NBC news, 27 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing seaman

• able-bodied seaman
• able seaman
• merchant seaman
• ordinary seaman
• seaman apprentice
• seaman recruit

Rhymes for seaman

• beeman
• daemon
• demon
• leman
• niemann
• seamen
• semen
• enginemen

Kids Definition

seaman

noun

sea·​man ˈsē-mən 

1

: sailor, mariner

2

: a naval enlisted person with a rank below those of petty officers

especially : an enlisted person with a rank just below that of petty officer third class