sailor

UK: /ˈseɪlə^r/ US: /ˈseɪlɚ/ ,(sā′lər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

sail•or /ˈseɪlɚ/   n. [countable]

1. one whose job is sailing;
   a mariner.
2. Military a person in a navy whose rank is below the rank of an officer.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sail•or  (sā′lər), n. 

1. a person whose occupation is sailing or navigation;
   mariner.
2. Military a seaman below the rank of officer.
3. Military a naval enlistee.
4. Naval Terms a person adept at sailing, esp. with reference to freedom from seasickness:
   He was such a bad sailor that he always traveled to Europe by plane.
5. Clothing a flat-brimmed straw hat with a low, flat crown.

• 1540–50; earlier sailer; see sail, -or²

sail′or•like′, adj. 
sail′or•ly, adj. 
Synonyms

• 1. seafarer.
  Sailor, mariner, salt, seaman, tar are terms for a person who leads a seafaring life. A sailor or seaman is one whose occupation is on board a ship at sea, esp. a member of a ship's crew below the rank of petty officer:
  a sailor before the mast; an able-bodied seaman.
  Mariner is a term now found only in certain technical expressions:
  master mariner
  (captain in merchant service); mariner's compass (ordinary compass as used on ships); formerly used much as "sailor'' or "seafaring man,'' now the word seems elevated or quaint:
  Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
  Salt and tar are informal terms for old and experienced sailors:
  an old salt; a jolly tar.

Antonyms

• 1. landlubber.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

sailor / ˈseɪlə/ noun

1. any member of a ship's crew, esp one below the rank of officer
2. a person who sails, esp with reference to the likelihood of them becoming seasick: a good sailor