as in leaders
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do
every morning the boss hands out a list of top-priority tasks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in supervises
to be in charge of
she bossed that project for years, until she was promoted again
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in rules
to exercise authority or power over
bossed the entire job site for a year
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in leads
to serve as leader of
bossed the entire gang of electricians on the construction project
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bosses
Alex Cooper, Fortune, 16 May 2026
And according to my scorecard, which averaged grades across five economic yardsticks, Powell’s eight years at the helm earned the second-worst California-centric score compared with the previous four central bank bosses.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
After all, the movement’s villains include female bosses, feminists, and women who don’t bear children—and Harris was the embodiment of all three.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
Back in Miami, the Mercedes, Ferrari, and Audi team bosses had already commented again on the wider debate over engine changes, following the furor over the 2026 engines sparked by driver criticism during winter testing.
—Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 14 May 2026
Steer clear of authority figures, bosses and the police, because anger and frustration might get you into trouble.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 7 May 2026
Williams, 40, started off by proudly touting her accomplishments at the start of her job performance review, but soon found herself under fire from three of her five commission bosses.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2026
Director Orson Krennic Anybody in middle management can relate to this Imperial officer who's saddled with getting a big project up and running (in his case, the first Death Star), forced to deal with uncaring bosses and winds up having some rebellious types screw the whole thing up.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026
Dano and Collette joined co-stars Abigail Breslin and Greg Kinnear and their director bosses Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris at the screening.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
But this layered intelligence rarely travels beyond marketing teams into boardrooms where bosses have the final say.
—Alex Cooper, Fortune, 16 May 2026
And according to my scorecard, which averaged grades across five economic yardsticks, Powell’s eight years at the helm earned the second-worst California-centric score compared with the previous four central bank bosses.
—Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
After all, the movement’s villains include female bosses, feminists, and women who don’t bear children—and Harris was the embodiment of all three.
—Helen Lewis, The Atlantic, 14 May 2026
Back in Miami, the Mercedes, Ferrari, and Audi team bosses had already commented again on the wider debate over engine changes, following the furor over the 2026 engines sparked by driver criticism during winter testing.
—Alex Kalinauckas, New York Times, 14 May 2026
Steer clear of authority figures, bosses and the police, because anger and frustration might get you into trouble.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 7 May 2026
Williams, 40, started off by proudly touting her accomplishments at the start of her job performance review, but soon found herself under fire from three of her five commission bosses.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2026
Director Orson Krennic Anybody in middle management can relate to this Imperial officer who's saddled with getting a big project up and running (in his case, the first Death Star), forced to deal with uncaring bosses and winds up having some rebellious types screw the whole thing up.
—Brian Truitt, USA Today, 3 May 2026
Verb
No harm, no foul — as long as the commission bosses back the changes, Zelden said.
—Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel, 21 Apr. 2026
Dano and Collette joined co-stars Abigail Breslin and Greg Kinnear and their director bosses Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris at the screening.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bosses
Noun
-
Many wanted to believe that if only we could get rid of certain leaders, things would soon return to normal.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
-
Its leaders have repeatedly contended that their resistance to occupation is protected under international law and the Lebanese constitution, if not under the new domestic policy.—
Rania Abouzeid,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
Major Kevin Corbett, who works for the BSO’s detention department, testified that the rapper is kept in a 30-cell unit by himself and an emergency-response team — dressed in tactical attire — supervises him 24 hours a day.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
7 May 2026
-
The Chinese government officially recognizes five religions — Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam — and tightly supervises them.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Now, nearly a decade later, Hamza is in the inner circle as the kingpin of the Baloch gang that rules the city of Karachi.—
Laura Sirikul,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
In Gemini — the sign Mercury naturally rules — this planet operates at full speed.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Competitive districts — where a candidate leads a challenger by fewer than 10 percentage points — are increasingly rare.—
Ashley Wu,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
Walking across shiny, immaculately clean floors into the still room, a tour leads visitors to a room with the immense structures the Bakers use to make their special brand of whiskey.—
Emily M. Olson,
Hartford Courant,
17 May 2026
Noun
-
Customers were very important; workers, foremen.—
Michael Kilian,
USA Today,
15 Apr. 2026
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For years after that, TCU alums who had served as Ranch Week foremen or queen would proudly include it on resumes, in professional biographies or when running for office.—
Matt Leclercq,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Each vehicle operates on Rivian's FleetOS platform, which oversees routing, charging, diagnostics, predictive upkeep, and telematics.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2026
-
The company absorbed xAI earlier this year and now oversees products tied to Grok, Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot platform.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
The same logic governs the risk functions.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2026
-
The neighborhood governs how the assets are used, maintaining local control in perpetuity while using profits for reinvestment.—
Alex Amouyel,
Fortune,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Xabi Alonso has been exposed to far too much elite football wisdom to be labelled a mere Guardiola disciple, but his style of play offers the path to a positive form of continuity while his status in the game commands far greater respect than any BlueCo hire since Mauricio Pochettino.—
Liam Twomey,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
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His furniture regularly commands staggering prices at auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, while his architectural works are increasingly gaining recognition as some of the most important examples of postwar Italian modernism.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
13 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bosses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bosses. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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