cabin boy

American  

noun

1. a boy employed as a servant for the officers and passengers on a ship.

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cabin boy British  

noun

1. a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship

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Etymology

Origin of cabin boy

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

The 1884 death of a cabin boy in a lifeboat was no accident.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 3, 2025

When the storm that sank the ship surged again, a young cabin boy was left stranded.

From National Geographic • Aug. 18, 2023

Here you have this man who goes to the Arctic at 18 as a cabin boy for Commander Peary.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 28, 2022

Completed in 1920, the Textile Building was the creation of George Backer, a rags-to-riches builder who came to New York from Russia as a cabin boy in 1891.

From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2022

He slept in the stable that night and on the next day did find a sea captain who would—in spite of the bad hand—take him on as a cabin boy.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes