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16 dictionary results for: boss

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

boss1

[baws, bos] Pronunciation Key

–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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

boss2

[baws, bos] Pronunciation Key

–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.

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.

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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boss3

[bos, baws] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a familiar name for a calf or cow.

[Origin: 1790–1800, Americanism; cf. dial. (SW England) borse, boss, buss six-month-old calf

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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boss4

[bos] Pronunciation Key

–adjective Scot.

hollow; empty.

[Origin: 1505–15; of obscure orig.

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

boss¹ (bôs, bŏs) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. An employer or a supervisor.
2. One who makes decisions or exercises authority.
A professional politician who controls a party or a political machine.

v. bossed, boss·ing, boss·es

v. tr.

To supervise or control. See Synonyms at supervise.
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.]

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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boss² (bôs, bŏs) Pronunciation Key
n.

A circular protuberance or knoblike swelling, as on the horns of certain animals.
A raised area used as ornamentation.
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.]

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boss³ (bôs, bŏs) Pronunciation Key
n. A cow or calf.

[Perhaps ultimately from Latin bōs; see bovine.]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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."

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
boss (2)

"button," c.1300, from O.Fr. boce "a hump, swelling," from either Frank. *botija or V.L. *bottia, both of uncertain origin.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

boss
adjective
1.	exceptionally good; "a boss hand at carpentry"; "his brag cornfield"
noun
1.	a person who exercises control over workers; "if you want to leave early you have to ask the foreman" [syn: foreman]
2.	a person responsible for hiring workers; "the boss hired three more men for the new job"
3.	a person who exercises control and makes decisions; "he is his own boss now"
4.	a leader in a political party who controls votes and dictates appointments; "party bosses have a reputation for corruption" [syn: party boss]
5.	a circular rounded projection or protuberance [syn: knob]
verb
1.	raise in a relief; "embossed stationery" [syn: emboss]

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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

boss (bôs)
n.

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

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Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

BOSS
Bridgport Operating System Software. A derivative of the ISO 1054 numerical machine control language for milling, etc.

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U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This

Boss, MO Zip code(s): 65440

U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Boss

Boss\, n. [D. baas master.] A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator. [Slang, U. S.]

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