mariner

noun

mar·​i·​ner ˈmer-ə-nər How to pronounce mariner (audio)
ˈma-rə-
: a person who navigates or assists in navigating a ship : seaman, sailor

Did you know?

In Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an old seaman tells of how, by shooting a friendly albatross, he had brought storms and disaster to his ship, and how as punishment his shipmates hung the great seabird around the mariner's neck and made him wear it until it rotted. The word mariner has occasionally been used to mean simply "explorer", as in the famous Mariner spaceflights in the 1960s and '70s, the first to fly close to Mars, Venus, and Mercury.

Examples of mariner in a Sentence

the ancient Phoenicians were outstanding mariners who explored and colonized much of the eastern Mediterranean
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Thursday’s launch then got pushed back by about half an hour when a boat strayed into the keep-away zone designed offshore for mariners’ safety. Rob Pegoraro, PCMAG, 16 Jan. 2025 The fierce mariners who swept out of Scandinavia in the late 700s and marauded for centuries through the North Atlantic and Baltic? Timothy Farrington, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025 The Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia isn’t a place for faint-hearted mariners. Howard Walker, Robb Report, 30 Dec. 2024 Visibility is expected to be significantly reduced in these areas, creating hazardous conditions for drivers and mariners. Marni Rose McFall, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mariner 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin marinarius, from marinus

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mariner was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near mariner

Cite this Entry

“Mariner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mariner. Accessed 24 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

mariner

noun
mar·​i·​ner ˈmar-ə-nər How to pronounce mariner (audio)
: one who navigates or assists in navigating a ship : sailor

More from Merriam-Webster on mariner

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