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deckhand

deckhand

8 5.7
A crew member who does physical work on a ship's deck
  • noun
  • /ˈdɛkˌhænd/
translation icon : marinero
  • As a deckhand, he spent most of his days scrubbing the decks and assisting the captain.
  • captain and a deckhand

Examples

  • My father was a deckhand his whole life.

  • The deckhands empty oysters onto the boat by releasing a door at the bottom of the dredge.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The deckhand who had been with the group turned and ran.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Wait, you were a deckhand?

  • The crew consisted of two individuals: the captain and a deckhand.

    Academic text (1991)
  • They were looking for a new deckhand.

  • One of the deckhands remembered the smell of bean cake.

  • Crew size is generally 15-16, with captain, mate, pilot, engineers, cook, and deckhands.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Standing at the bow: 13-year-old deckhand, Louis Rosche, gazed out on the waters before him.

  • One of the Mexican deckhands called to the pilot tug bringing them in, wanting to know what the wreckage was.

    Fiction book (2002)

Synonyms

hand
vsdeckhand
4.9

A worker who does physical work on a ship or farm

is the shipboard version focused on unskilled physical work on deck
sailor
vsdeckhand
308 1.0

A person who works on a ship as a crew member but not an officer

narrows that role to performing unskilled manual labor on deck
crew member
vsdeckhand
113 2.4

A person who works as part of a team on a ship, plane, or film set

limits that membership to doing hands-on unskilled tasks on deck
seaman
vsdeckhand
59 2.8

A person who works on a ship as a crew member below the officers

emphasizes the unskilled manual deck tasks rather than rank or gender
crewman
vsdeckhand
47 3.2

A person who works with others on a ship, aircraft, or vehicle

is specific to manual unskilled labor done on the ship deck
crewmember
vsdeckhand
10 3.2

A person who works with others on a ship or plane

highlights performing unskilled manual duties specifically on deck
roustabout
vsdeckhand
2 9.9

A person who does hard, simple physical work, often on ships or oil fields

focuses specifically on unskilled manual tasks performed on a ship deck
deckie
vsdeckhand
  • Jargon
9.3

A person who works on the deck of a ship

is the neutral term for unskilled manual work on deck
waister
vsdeckhand
  • Archaic
9.9

A sailor who works on the main deck of a ship

is broader, covering any unskilled manual tasks across the deck
shipman
vsdeckhand
  • Archaic
9.9

A sailor who works on a ship

is the modern, specific term for unskilled manual labor on deck

How Skilled

officer
77 3.1
boatswain
  • Specialized
5 9.9
able seaman
  • Jargon
1 7.1
deckhand
8 5.7
trainee
50 2.4

Surface Forms

deckhand singular
deckhands plural

Morphology

deckhand = deck + hand (transparent) = deck + hand

A direct compound of 'deck' + 'hand' meaning a worker who works on the deck; the compound logic is clear to learners who know both components.

Etymology

Deckhand comes from the words deck, meaning the ship's 'floor', and hand, meaning a 'worker' as in farmhand. So a deckhand is someone who does the hard, physical work on the ship's deck.