boss Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person who exercises control over workers
    foreman; chief; gaffer; honcho.
    • if you want to leave early you have to ask the foreman
  2. noun a person responsible for hiring workers
    hirer.
    • the boss hired three more men for the new job
  3. noun a person who exercises control and makes decisions
    • he is his own boss now
  4. noun a leader in a political party who controls votes and dictates appointments
    party boss; political boss.
    • party bosses have a reputation for corruption
  5. noun a circular rounded projection or protuberance
    knob.
  6. noun wild and domestic cattle; in some classifications placed in the subfamily Bovinae or tribe Bovini
    genus Bos; Bos.
  7. verb raise in a relief
    stamp; emboss.
    • embossed stationery
  8. adjective satellite exceptionally good
    brag.
    • a boss hand at carpentry
    • his brag cornfield

WordNet

Boss noun
Etymology
OE. boce, bose, boche, OF. boce, boche, bosse, F. bosse, of G. origin; cf. OHG. bozo tuft, bunch, OHG. bozan, MHG. bôzen, to beat. See Beat, and cf. Botch a swelling.
Wordforms
plural Bosses
Definitions
  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. bösse. 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 transitive verb
Etymology
OE. bocen, fr. OF. bocier. See the preceding word.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Bossed present participle & verbal noun Bossing
Definitions
  1. To ornament with bosses; to stud.
Boss noun
Etymology
D. baas master.
Definitions
  1. A master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator. Slang, U. S.

Webster 1913