Meanings
plural merchant marines
- Synonym of merchant navy: a fleet of commercial vessels.
They were of quite as bad a type as the ships of the more humble merchant marine.
1911, Arthur Hamilton Clark, The Clipper Ship Era 1843-1869, Chapter 2Synonyms: merchant navy
- Synonym of merchant ship: a single vessel in such a fleet.
Captain Robert Dollar of San Francisco, dean of American ship owners, […] is still, although nearly 80, the eager champion of an American privately owned merchant marine.
1923 May 28, “Captain Dollar Speaks”, in TimeSynonyms: merchant ship
- nonstandardproscribedSynonym of merchant mariner: a sailor in such a fleet.
Synonyms: merchant mariner
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of merchant navy: a fleet of commercial vessels.
nounSynonym of merchant ship: a single vessel in such a fleet.
nounSynonym of merchant mariner: a sailor in such a fleet.
More synonyms by meaning
nounconveyance provided by the ships belonging to one country or industry
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
French marin marchand
- marin marchandTranslations
Polish marynarka handlowa
- marynarka handlowaTranslations
Cite this entry
merchant marine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merchant%20marine
“merchant marine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merchant%20marine. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “merchant marine,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/merchant%20marine.
Source: merchant marine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.