mariner
noun
mar·i·ner
ˈmer-ə-nər 
ˈma-rə-
Did you know?
In Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, an old seaman tells of how, by shooting a friendly albatross, he had brought storms and disaster to his ship, and how as punishment his shipmates hung the great seabird around the mariner's neck and made him wear it until it rotted. The word mariner has occasionally been used to mean simply "explorer", as in the famous Mariner spaceflights in the 1960s and '70s, the first to fly close to Mars, Venus, and Mercury.
Examples of mariner in a Sentence
the ancient Phoenicians were outstanding mariners who explored and colonized much of the eastern Mediterranean
Recent Examples on the Web
Warning notices advising pilots and mariners to steer clear of the test area indicated the missile and its hypersonic glide vehicle were supposed to splash down in the mid-Atlantic Ocean hundreds of miles north and northeast of Puerto Rico.
—
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 26 Apr. 2025
The city’s remaining water intake cribs — Four Mile, 68th Street, Carter H. Harrison, Edward F. Dunne, Wilson Avenue and William E. Dever — also were fitted with electrical navigation devices to aid mariners.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
Titanic analyst Parks Stephenson, metallurgist Jennifer Hooper, and master mariner Captain Chris Hearn find evidence exonerating First Officer William Murdoch, long accused of abandoning his post.
—ArsTechnica, 10 Apr. 2025
Hazardous seas also prompted NWS meteorologists to issue a small craft advisory warning inexperienced mariners, especially those in small vessels, against venturing out into the ocean.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mariner
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 26 Apr. 2025
The city’s remaining water intake cribs — Four Mile, 68th Street, Carter H. Harrison, Edward F. Dunne, Wilson Avenue and William E. Dever — also were fitted with electrical navigation devices to aid mariners.
—Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2025
Titanic analyst Parks Stephenson, metallurgist Jennifer Hooper, and master mariner Captain Chris Hearn find evidence exonerating First Officer William Murdoch, long accused of abandoning his post.
—ArsTechnica, 10 Apr. 2025
Hazardous seas also prompted NWS meteorologists to issue a small craft advisory warning inexperienced mariners, especially those in small vessels, against venturing out into the ocean.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mariner
Cite this Entry
“Mariner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mariner. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mariner
noun
mar·i·ner
ˈmar-ə-nər
: one who navigates or assists in navigating a ship : sailor
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share