as in leader
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do
had a complaint and demanded to talk to the helmsman of this vast construction project, not some underling
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Recent Examples of helmsman
Burling, at 26, is the youngest helmsman to win sailing’s greatest prize in a competition that dates to 1851.
2021 — Tour de France: The largest pile up in Tour history is caused by a spectator with a sign during Stage 1.
—
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
The Australian Spithill is a former skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, winning the America’s Cup in 2010, defending the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully in 2013, and unsuccessfully in 2017.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
The helmsman, feeling swells beneath the vessel, gleans the proper heading, even in the dark.
—The Conversation, 14 May 2025
The umpires on the water will make subjective judgment calls that include deciding whether a collision was avoidable—that is, determining if the helmsman of one boat gave the other room and opportunity to maneuver to avoid the collision.
—Stan Honey, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2013
See All Example Sentences for helmsman
Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2025
The Australian Spithill is a former skipper and helmsman for BMW Oracle Racing, winning the America’s Cup in 2010, defending the cup twice, both times against Emirates Team New Zealand, first successfully in 2013, and unsuccessfully in 2017.
—Luisa Zargani, Footwear News, 26 May 2025
The helmsman, feeling swells beneath the vessel, gleans the proper heading, even in the dark.
—The Conversation, 14 May 2025
The umpires on the water will make subjective judgment calls that include deciding whether a collision was avoidable—that is, determining if the helmsman of one boat gave the other room and opportunity to maneuver to avoid the collision.
—Stan Honey, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Aug. 2013
See All Example Sentences for helmsman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for helmsman
Noun
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The crowd includes top business leaders, including Apple’s Tim Cook and NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Senior defender Peyton Johnson, Elizabeth’s older sister, is Oswego’s other team leader.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Mentorship opens unexpected doors The shop foreman at Sam Pack encouraged him to take advantage of industry certification opportunities at Dallas College while also pursuing a degree.—
Robbie Owens,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Chavez, who worked as a construction foreman at the lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico, disappeared in May 2025.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Menin has supported Wilson, Bottcher’s former chief of staff, who had his ex-boss’s blessing in the race.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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On behalf of everyone at Disney, on behalf of [new CEO] Josh [D’Amaro] and [Disney Entertainment, Studios, chairman] Alan Bergman and [FX boss] John Landgraf and Debra OConnell, our new head of Disney Entertainment Television.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Players were forced into hiding, their equipment and medals buried or abandoned, before a coordinated evacuation — led in part by former team captain and activist Khalida Popal — brought dozens of players out of the country.—
Max Feliu,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
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Flay first revealed that girlfriend Williamson was becoming a team captain while chatting with PEOPLE at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) in February.—
Erin Clements,
PEOPLE,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Raice currently servs as deputy bureau chief for the Middle East and North Africa for the Journal and is based in Israel.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
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The royal couple will meet with the former Vogue editor-in-chief and businesswoman in New York City at a reception celebrating the work of his charity, The King’s Trust.—
Allison DeGrushe,
StyleCaster,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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This new iteration was partly handled by Room40 label boss Lawrence English, who reconstructed the original master tapes and blended them with recent performances by Lockwood and Vanessa Tomlinson, who plays the gong.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
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Leaders of the gardens have been undergoing a master planning effort for more than a year in an effort to accommodate visitation of the botanical garden doubling to more than 300,000 people annually over the past decade.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mojtaba Khamenei is probably alive, but Vahidi, who is head of -- the commander of the IRGC is probably calling the shots.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Apr. 2026
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In past years, the association president has been followed by the commander-in-chief, and then a headliner, usually a comedian who roasts everyone in the room.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The club wanted to offer the 37-year-old Polish striker reduced terms with a secondary role while Lewandowski was waiting to see what the club’s sporting directors would offer him.—
Laia Cervelló Herrero,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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The key position of NSF director has been unfilled ever since Sethuraman Panchanathan, a computer scientist and academic administrator, resigned in April 2025.—
National Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Helmsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/helmsman. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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