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boss - 16 dictionary results
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boss

1  [baws, bos]
Use boss in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who employs or superintends workers; manager.
2. a politician who controls the party organization, as in a particular district.
3. a person who makes decisions, exercises authority, dominates, etc.: My grandfather was the boss in his family.
–verb (used with object)
4. to be master of or over; manage; direct; control.
5. to order about, esp. in an arrogant manner.
–verb (used without object)
6. to be boss.
7. to be too domineering and authoritative.
–adjective
8. chief; master.
9. Slang. first-rate.
Origin:
1640–50, Americanism; < D baas master, foreman

Synonyms:
1. supervisor, head, foreman, chief, superintendent, administrator, overseer.
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boss

2  [baws, bos]
–noun
1. Botany, Zoology. a protuberance or roundish excrescence on the body or on some organ of an animal or plant.
2. Geology. a knoblike mass of rock, esp. an outcrop of igneous or metamorphic rock.
3. an ornamental protuberance of metal, ivory, etc.; stud.
4. Architecture.
a. an ornamental, knoblike projection, as a carved keystone at the intersection of ogives.
b. a stone roughly formed and set in place for later carving.
5. Bookbinding. one of several pieces of brass or other metal inset into the cover of a book to protect the corners or edges or for decoration.
6. Machinery. a small projection on a casting or forging.
7. Nautical. a projecting part in a ship's hull, or in one frame of a hull, fitting around a propeller shaft.
–verb (used with object)
8. to ornament with bosses.
9. to emboss.
10. (in plumbing) to hammer (sheet metal, as lead) to conform to an irregular surface.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME boce < AF: lump, growth, boil; OF < VL *bottia, of uncert. orig.

boss

3  [bos, baws]
–noun
a familiar name for a calf or cow.
Origin:
1790–1800, Americanism; cf. dial. (SW England) borse, boss, buss six-month-old calf

boss

4  [bos]
–adjective Scot.
hollow; empty.
Origin:
1505–15; of obscure orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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boss 1   (bôs, bŏs)   
n.  
    1. An employer or a supervisor.
    2. One who makes decisions or exercises authority.
  2. A professional politician who controls a party or a political machine.
v.   bossed, boss·ing, boss·es

v.   tr.
  1. To supervise or control. See Synonyms at supervise.
  2. To give orders to, especially in an arrogant or domineering manner: bossing us around.
v.   intr.
To be or act as a supervisor or controlling element.
adj.   Slang
First-rate; topnotch.

[Dutch baas, master.]
boss 2   (bôs, bŏs)   
n.  
  1. A circular protuberance or knoblike swelling, as on the horns of certain animals.
  2. A raised area used as ornamentation.
  3. Architecture A raised ornament, such as one at the intersection of the ribs in a vaulted roof.
    1. An enlarged part of a shaft to which another shaft is coupled or to which a wheel or gear is keyed.
    2. A hub, especially of a propeller.
tr.v.   bossed, boss·ing, boss·es
To emboss.

[Middle English boce, from Old French.]
boss 3   (bôs, bŏs)   
n.  A cow or calf.

[Perhaps ultimately from Latin bōs; see bovine.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Boss

Boss\ (b[o^]s; 115), n.; pl. Bosses (-[e^]z). [OE. boce, bose, boche, OF. boce, boche, bosse, F. bosse, of G. origin; cf. OHG. b[=o]zo tuft, bunch, OHG. b[=o]zan, MHG. b[^o]zen, to beat. See Beat, and cf. Botch a swelling.]

1. Any protuberant part; a round, swelling part or body; a knoblike process; as, a boss of wood.

2. A protuberant ornament on any work, either of different material from that of the work or of the same, as upon a buckler or bridle; a stud; a knob; the central projection of a shield. See Umbilicus.

3. (Arch.) A projecting ornament placed at the intersection of the ribs of ceilings, whether vaulted or flat, and in other situations.

4. [Cf. D. bus box, Dan. b["o]sse.] A wooden vessel for the mortar used in tiling or masonry, hung by a hook from the laths, or from the rounds of a ladder. --Gwilt.

5. (Mech.) (a) The enlarged part of a shaft, on which a wheel is keyed, or at the end, where it is coupled to another. (b) A swage or die used for shaping metals.

6. A head or reservoir of water. [Obs.]

Boss

Boss\ (b[o^]s), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bossed (b[o^]st); p. pr. & vb. n. Bossing.] [OE. bocen, fr. OF. bocier. See the preceding word.] To ornament with bosses; to stud.

Boss

Boss\, n. [D. baas master.] A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator. [Slang, U. S.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : boss
Spanish: jefe,
German: der Chef,
Japanese: ボス
More Translations »

boss  (1)
"overseer," 1649, Amer.Eng., from Du. baas "a master," origin obscure; original sense seems to have been "uncle," so perhaps it is related to O.H.G. basa "aunt." The Du. form baas is attested in Eng. from 1625 as the standard title of a Du. ship's captain. Its popularity in U.S. may reflect egalitarian avoidance of master. The verb is from 1856. The slang adjective meaning "excellent" is first recorded 1880s. Bossy first recorded 1882; as a common cow name it represents L. bos "cow."

boss  (2)
"button," c.1300, from O.Fr. boce "a hump, swelling," from either Frank. *botija or V.L. *bottia, both of uncertain origin.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: boss
Pronunciation: 'bäs, 'bos
Function: noun
: a protuberant part or body boss on an animal's horn>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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boss (bôs)
n.

  1. A circumscribed rounded swelling; a protuberance.
  2. The prominence of a kyphosis or humpback.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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BOSS
Bridgport Operating System Software. A derivative of the ISO 1054 numerical machine control language for milling, etc.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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boss

in medieval architecture, keystone used in vaulting to provide a junction for intersecting ribs and to cover the actual complex of mitred joints. In medieval England it was highly developed, but in France it was less developed because of the greater height of French naves. By the 13th century, decorative bosses with naturalistic carving were widely used in England (e.g., in the nave at Westminster Abbey, London, and at Ely Cathedral). In the 14th century, bosses comprising a series of narrative scenes appeared, and in the 15th century, fan vaulting was developed with long, pendantlike bosses

Learn more about boss with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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