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Glite Dictionary
shipboard duty

shipboard duty

7.7
Work by military people on a ship while at sea
  • noun
  • /ˈʃɪpˌbɔrd ˈdjuːti/
  • Jargon
translation icon : servicio a bordo
  • Each crew member has specific shipboard duties that keep the ship running smoothly while at sea.

Examples

  • "Your shipboard duties are currently light," Margaret said.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The decrease in accidental injury rates noted in this study counters the hypothesis that rates would increase as a result of an increment in the number of women assigned to nontraditional jobs and to shipboard duty.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Other findings showed that hospitalization rates for accidental injuries were higher for the earliest cohort than for the other two groups, which represented the time frame when women began to be assigned with greater frequency to nontraditional jobs and to shipboard duty.

    Academic text (1992)

  • During a storm, the sailors performed their shipboard duty with great precision to ensure the safety of the crew.

  • He was proud to fulfill his shipboard duty of maintaining the navigation equipment during the voyage.

Synonyms

sea-duty
vsshipboard duty
  • Specialized
2 7.2

Service on a navy ship while the ship is at sea

includes military roles beyond strictly naval personnel
service abroad
vsshipboard duty
1 5.2

A military job on a ship while away from your country

is limited to service aboard ships at sea rather than abroad or ashore

Surface Forms

shipboard duty singular
shipboard duties plural

Morphology

shipboard + duty

The meaning is transparently built from 'shipboard' (related to being on a ship) + 'duty' (a responsibility), so 'service performed aboard a ship' is directly inferable. This is a regular adjective+noun composition common in English and cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand it.

Etymology

Shipboard duty comes from life on a ship: shipboard means 'on the ship' and duty means 'work to do'. So shipboard duty is the work sailors do while living and serving on a ship, which is why it means 'service while on a ship'.