cabin boy

noun

: a boy working as servant on a ship

Examples of cabin boy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The young man probably arrived from England in the 1630s as a cabin boy or an indentured servant. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Dec. 2023 One of the cabin boys who worked by the fishing docks told my sister about a handy trick to save on quarters during pinball play. Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 28 June 2023 One day, captured by the wicked pirate Peg Leg Olle, Mo bumps into a resourceful young cabin boy, Hannes, and his pet bird. Leo Barraclough, Variety, 30 May 2023 Instead, the show blends adventure and real reverence, sometimes to beautiful effect and sometimes to jarring contrast, as when the shipwreck hunters stroll down a gorgeous beach while discussing a young cabin boy who died in a wreck 100 years before. Margaret Lyons, New York Times, 6 Oct. 2022 The mainmast is broken, the cabin boy is on deck, there are twelve passengers aboard, the wind is blowing Northeast, the clock points to a quarter past three in the afternoon. Richard Malena, Popular Mechanics, 26 Dec. 2022 Richardson had been born in London and had gone to sea at the age of 12, at first working as a cabin boy in the British merchant marine, then working his way up the ranks until becoming a captain. Gary Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 May 2022 Two stewards and a little cabin boy jumped from a window—saved. Merrie Monteagudo, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 May 2021 Horn, who ran away from home at 13, was a cabin boy on the ship. Washington Post, 14 Jan. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cabin boy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cabin boy was in 1670

Dictionary Entries Near cabin boy

Cite this Entry

“Cabin boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cabin%20boy. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

cabin boy

noun
: a boy working as a servant on a ship
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