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Glite Dictionary
lubber's hole

lubber's hole

9.9
A hole in the mast platform that lets a sailor climb through from inside the rigging
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : agujero de lubber
  • The sailor climbed through the lubber's hole instead of venturing onto the shrouds.

Examples

  • Old ships often had a lubber's hole for less experienced crew members.

  • He was mocked for choosing the lubber's hole rather than facing the rigging.

  • The sailor climbed through the lubber's hole with ease.

  • He spotted the lubber's hole at the top of the mast.

  • The sailor carefully emerged from the lubber's hole at the top of the mast to check the rigging.

  • After climbing through the lubber's hole, he secured the sails before heading back down.

  • She shouted to her crewmates as she climbed through the lubber's hole to join them on the deck.

Surface Forms

lubber's hole singular
lubber's holes plural

Morphology

lubber's + hole

The compound literally combines 'lubber' (an archaic term for an inexperienced or clumsy sailor) with 'hole' (an opening), so a learner who knows both words could infer it is an opening associated with lubbers — i.e., an access point. However, the precise nautical sense (a specific hole in the mast platform allowing internal climbing) is a specialized, language-varied usage and not fully predictable from the parts, so prior exposure is generally needed for the exact meaning.

Etymology

Lubber's hole is a sailing name for the small opening in the platform at the top of a ship's mast. A lubber was a clumsy or 'inexperienced' sailor and the hole let someone climb up without going out on the ropes, so one popular story says it was made for 'lubbers' and that is why the phrase means a safe, easy entrance.