Definition of "able seaman" [able seaman]

• An experienced seaman certified to perform all routine duties at sea. Also called able-bodied seaman. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "“I am Stephen Donovan, able seaman off Sirius, Mrs. Morgan,” he said, bowing with a flourish of his Sunday tricorn."
• "He was the most remarkable figure of a burnt-out, aged man one would expect to find able seaman on one of the proudest sailing-ships afloat."