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man overboard. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
man overboard, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
man overboard in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
man overboard you have here. The definition of the word
man overboard will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
man overboard, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Interjection
man overboard!
- (nautical) A cry used to announce that one of the crew or passengers has fallen over the side of the vessel.
1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 105:Hazel Strong was looking from her darkened port across the dark sea. Suddenly a body shot past her eyes from the deck above. It dropped so quickly into the dark waters below that she could not be sure of what it was—it might have been a man, she could not say. She listened for some outcry from above—for the always-fearsome call, “Man overboard!” but it did not come. All was silence on the ship above—all was silence in the sea below.
Usage notes
The cry is always man overboard, regardless of the gender of the person involved.
Translations
cry indicating someone has fallen over the side