boss
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 6
- Words With Friends
- 7
- Letters
- 4
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Definition of boss
22 senses · 4 parts of speech · etymology included
noun
-
One who is in charge or something.
“The boss of the company was going to Spain for work.”
“we have some vindictive people as bosses, and you don’t want to be the target of their wrath.”
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noun
-
One who is in charge or something.
“The boss of the company was going to Spain for work.”
“we have some vindictive people as bosses, and you don’t want to be the target of their wrath.”
-
One who is in charge or something.
“Chat turned to whisper when the boss entered the conference room.”
“My boss complains that I'm always late to work.”
“"Our Boss has resigned!" said Joe Chandler slowly, impressively. "No! Not the Commissioner o’ Police?" exclaimed Bunting.”
-
One who is in charge or something.
“They named him boss because he had good leadership skills.”
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One who is in charge or something.
“He is the Republican boss in Kentucky.”
-
(Australia)One who is in charge or something.
“Above all, she must not tell the boss of any little irregularity she may see.”
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(humorous)One who is in charge or something.
“There's no olive oil; will sunflower oil do? — I'll have to run that by the boss.”
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(India, Multicultural-London-English, Philippines, especially, informal)One who is in charge or something.
“Good to see you, boss.”
-
An enemy, often at the end of a level, that is particularly challenging and must be beaten in order to progress.
“Cuphead built a reputation for difficulty before release, but its boss battles are mostly about recognizing patterns than getting lucky against unfair bosses. Watching players ace their way through the game’s bosses is a spellbinding reminder that even tough games can be defeated easily with hard work.”
- A lump, protuberance, or swelling in an animal, person or object.
- A lump, protuberance, or swelling in an animal, person or object.
-
A lump, protuberance, or swelling in an animal, person or object.
“To the upper part of the frame a chain is attached, and if the screw shaft be drawn back out of the boss, the square frame may be hove up by carrying the chain to a winch—the sliding block maintaining the frame in the perpendicular position.”
“The seargent […] screwing a bipod into the threaded boss on the underside of the barrel would kill these animals […]”
- A lump, protuberance, or swelling in an animal, person or object.
- A lump, protuberance, or swelling in an animal, person or object.
- A target block, made of foam but historically made of hay bales, to which a target face is attached.
-
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.
“Boss, a short trough for holding water, when tiling the roof”
- A head or reservoir of water.
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(obsolete)A hassock or small seat, especially made from a bundle of straw.
“All were waiting : uncle Charles, who sat far away in the shadow of the window, Dante and Mr Casey, who sat in the easy chairs at either side of the hearth, Stephen, seated on a chair between them, his feet resting on a toasting boss.”
verb
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(transitive)To exercise authoritative control over; to tell (someone) what to do, often repeatedly.
“By YOU last night’s journey was actually bossed / Without you, I’m certain, we’d all have been lost.”
“His sisters bossed him and spoiled him. All their lives he was to go on being their little brother, who could do no wrong, because he was the baby; [...]”
“She bossed him, and he's never gotten over it. She still orders him around, and instead of telling her to go soak her head, he just says 'Yes, ma'am' as weak as a newborn jellyfish [...]”
“For if, on the one hand, I bossed him and showed him what to do and how to do it, [...]”
“Clarke was undoubtedly made to change things and for spells, the Czechs bossed the game. Scotland's midfield was nullified, Dykes struggled to hold the ball up while, barring a small handful of forays by Robertson, there was a distinct lack of width from the Scots.”
- (transitive)To decorate with bosses; to emboss.
adj
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(Canada, US, slang)Of excellent quality, first-rate.
“That is a boss Zefron poster.”
“Boy 2: He's the neatest looking guy on TV! Boy 3: I'll say! Boy 1: He sure is! Boy 3: Boy, the way he talks is really boss!”
name
- A surname.
- (US, abbreviation, acronym, alt-of)Acronym of Bond and Option Sales Strategy.
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō-? Proto-Germanic *baswô Proto-West Germanic *baswō Old Dutch *baso Middle Dutch baes Dutch baasbor. English boss From Dutch baas, from Middle Dutch baes (“master of…
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Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- Proto-Germanic *bō-? Proto-Germanic *baswô Proto-West Germanic *baswō Old Dutch *baso Middle Dutch baes Dutch baasbor. English boss From Dutch baas, from Middle Dutch baes (“master of a household, friend”), from Old Dutch *baso (“uncle, kinsman”), from Proto-West Germanic *baswō, from Proto-Germanic *baswô (“uncle”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *ba-, *bō- (“father, older male relative”), source also of the English terms babe, boy, bub, bully. Cognate with Middle Low German bās (“supervisor, foreman”), Old Frisian bas (“master”), hence Saterland Frisian Boas (“boss”), Old High German basa (“father's sister, cousin”), hence German Base (“aunt, cousin”). Originally a term of respect used to address an older relative. Later, in New Amsterdam, it began to mean a person in charge who is not a master. The video game sense is borrowed from Japanese ボス (bosu), borrowed from English boss.
Words you can make from boss
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