noun
- plural of boatswain; naval petty officers responsible for the deck crew and ship’s rigging, anchors, cables, and boats
Usage: nautical
Examples
- The boatswains inspected the rigging before departure.
- Two experienced boatswains supervised the deck crew.
- The ship’s boatswains were responsible for maintaining all the equipment.
- The captain relied on his boatswains to keep the vessel seaworthy.
- Both boatswains had over twenty years of naval experience.
- The boatswains directed the sailors in lowering the lifeboats.