as in leader
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do
had a complaint and demanded to talk to the helmsman of this vast construction project, not some underling
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Recent Examples of helmsman
Burling, at 26, is the youngest helmsman to win sailing’s greatest prize in a competition that dates to 1851.
2021 — Tour de France: The largest pile up in Tour history is caused by a spectator with a sign during Stage 1.
—
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
The Australian Spithill is a former skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, winning the America’s Cup in 2010, defending the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully in 2013, and unsuccessfully in 2017.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
The helmsman, feeling swells beneath the vessel, gleans the proper heading, even in the dark.
—The Conversation, 14 May 2025
The umpires on the water will make subjective judgment calls that include deciding whether a collision was avoidable—that is, determining if the helmsman of one boat gave the other room and opportunity to maneuver to avoid the collision.
—Stan Honey, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2013
See All Example Sentences for helmsman
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
The Australian Spithill is a former skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, winning the America’s Cup in 2010, defending the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully in 2013, and unsuccessfully in 2017.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
The helmsman, feeling swells beneath the vessel, gleans the proper heading, even in the dark.
—The Conversation, 14 May 2025
The umpires on the water will make subjective judgment calls that include deciding whether a collision was avoidable—that is, determining if the helmsman of one boat gave the other room and opportunity to maneuver to avoid the collision.
—Stan Honey, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2013
See All Example Sentences for helmsman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for helmsman
Noun
-
The city’s been the leader in that area for almost a year.—
Desiree Mathurin
April 8,
Charlotte Observer,
8 Apr. 2026
-
The Hickman Mills School District is currently about $14 million in debt, a figure which district leaders attribute partly to financial mismanagement and partly to recent changes to the Jackson County property tax assessment cycle.—
Ilana Arougheti,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Nusku encouraged his fellow Igigi to rebel by setting fire to their tools and surrounding the house of Ellil, an Anunnaki leader and their foreman.—
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei,
ARTnews.com,
6 Apr. 2026
-
On July 2, A ranch foreman checking on sheep finds strange debris spread over a prairie near Roswell, New Mexico.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Yesterday, Melvin Benn, the boss of Wireless parent Festival Republic, released a statement standing by the booking and advocating for forgiveness of Ye.—
Jazz Monroe,
Pitchfork,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Coaching, mentorship, and hands-on development—the soft infrastructure that has historically built management pipelines and transmitted institutional knowledge from one generation to the next—are the first casualties when a single boss is stretched across 12 people rather than six.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
He’s also been beloved by his organizations, was named the Rockets’ captain this year and has always been in good favor with Hockey Canada.—
Scott Wheeler,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Boston captain Megan Keller, Susanna Tapani and Jamie Lee Rattray each had a goal.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
As party chief, Lam has led Vietnam’s biggest bureaucratic overhaul since the 1980s, cutting jobs, merging ministries, redrawing provincial boundaries and advancing major infrastructure projects.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
At the time, Kansas City police chief and former FBI agent Lear Reed was on a campaign to clean up the police force and remove the lingering influences of Pendergast.—
Patrick Salland,
Kansas City Star,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Hunt said Scott Polk, the master jeweler who helped create her ring, also worked on her mother’s ring.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
8 Apr. 2026
-
With sister Coco a gifted painter and her brother, Raymond, a master counterfeiter, the two end up in the middle of a scheme with a down-on-his-luck millionaire.—
Michelle F. Solomon,
Miami Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
For more on that, I'm joined now by former CENTCOM commander, General Joseph Votel.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Flying glass and debris injured him in the arms and legs, the commander says.—
Lauren Frayer,
NPR,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
All that credit goes to the co-creators Marla Mindelle, Constantine Rousouli and director Tye Blue, who have crafted one of the sharpest books Broadway has seen in years.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
13 Apr. 2026
-
On Sunday, the market's executive director, Steve Pulliam, said, for that reason, Heart of the City is also the single largest user of the Market Match program in the entire state.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Helmsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/helmsman. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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