What does boss mean?

Definitions for boss
bɒs, bɔsboss

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word boss.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. foreman, chief, gaffer, honcho, bossnoun

    a person who exercises control over workers

    "if you want to leave early you have to ask the foreman"

  2. boss, hirernoun

    a person responsible for hiring workers

    "the boss hired three more men for the new job"

  3. bossnoun

    a person who exercises control and makes decisions

    "he is his own boss now"

  4. party boss, political boss, bossnoun

    a leader in a political party who controls votes and dictates appointments

    "party bosses have a reputation for corruption"

  5. knob, bossadjective

    a circular rounded projection or protuberance

  6. boss, bragverb

    exceptionally good

    "a boss hand at carpentry"; "his brag cornfield"

  7. emboss, boss, stampverb

    raise in a relief

    "embossed stationery"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Bossnoun

    Etymology: bosse, Fr.

    What signifies beauty, strength, youth, fortune, embroidered furniture, or gaudy bosses? Roger L'Estrange.

    This ivory was intended for the bosses of a bridle, was laid up for a prince, and a woman of Caria or Mæonia dyed it. Alexander Pope, Notes on Iliad.

    He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers. Job, xv. 26.

    A boss made of wood, with an iron hook, to hang on the laths, or on a ladder, in which the labourer puts the mortar at the britches of the tiles. Joseph Moxon, Mechanical Exercises.

    If a close appulse be made by the lips, then is framed M; if by the boss of the tongue to the palate, near the throat, then K. William Holder, Elements of Speech.

Wikipedia

  1. Boss

    "The Boss is a 1979 song written and produced by Ashford & Simpson and recorded by singer Diana Ross, who released it as a single on the Motown label. It was the first release from the album of the same title (1979).

ChatGPT

  1. boss

    A boss is a person who is in charge of a worker or an organization, having the authority and responsibility to make decisions and oversee the work activities of employees or subordinates. They are typically above the worker in the hierarchy of an organization, setting work-related goals, providing guidance, and often determining salaries, promotions, and terminations.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Bossnoun

    any protuberant part; a round, swelling part or body; a knoblike process; as, a boss of wood

  2. Bossnoun

    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. Bossnoun

    a projecting ornament placed at the intersection of the ribs of ceilings, whether vaulted or flat, and in other situations

  4. Bossnoun

    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

  5. Bossnoun

    the enlarged part of a shaft, on which a wheel is keyed, or at the end, where it is coupled to another

  6. Bossnoun

    a swage or die used for shaping metals

  7. Bossnoun

    a head or reservoir of water

  8. Bossverb

    to ornament with bosses; to stud

  9. Bossnoun

    a master workman or superintendent; a director or manager; a political dictator

Wikidata

  1. Boss

    A mob boss, crime lord, Don or kingpin is a person in charge of a criminal organization or a terrorist organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits from the criminal endeavours in which his organization engages. Some groups may only have as little as two ranks. Other groups have a more complex, structured organization with many ranks, and structure may vary with cultural background. Organized crime enterprises originating in Sicily differ in structure from those in mainland Italy. American groups may be structured differently from their European counterparts, and Latino and African American gangs often have structures that vary from European gangs. The size of the criminal organization also is important, as regional or national gangs have much more complex hierarchies.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Boss

    bos, n. the chief or leader: the master, manager, or foreman: the person who pulls the wires in political intrigues.—adj. chief: excellent.—v.t. to manage or control.—To boss the show, to be supreme director of an enterprise. [Amer.; from the New York Dutch baas, master; cog. with Ger. base, a cousin.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. boss

    A head of water, or reservoir. Also the apex of a shield.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. boss

    The apex of a shield.

Suggested Resources

  1. boss

    Song lyrics by boss -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by boss on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. BOSS

    What does BOSS stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the BOSS acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Etymology and Origins

  1. Boss

    A term derived from the Dutch settlers of New York, in whose language baas (pronounced like the a in all), expressed an overseer or master.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. BOSS

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Boss is ranked #4154 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Boss surname appeared 8,529 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 would have the surname Boss.

    86.6% or 7,394 total occurrences were White.
    8.4% or 720 total occurrences were Black.
    1.9% or 167 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.6% or 140 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.7% or 61 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.5% or 47 total occurrences were Asian.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'boss' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3221

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'boss' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2429

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'boss' in Nouns Frequency: #1105

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce boss?

How to say boss in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of boss in Chaldean Numerology is: 6

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of boss in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of boss in a Sentence

  1. Patrick Wanis:

    I think there is a cultural shift towards change and younger men are more open to change than older men, younger men have a very different perspective to their roles ... and younger men are not afraid of the woman being in power or having a female president or having a female boss.

  2. Ben Dattner:

    You’re not going to get any sort of positive support or encouragement or reassurance from a narcissistic boss.

  3. Angela Loaiza:

    I couldn’t believe it, i kept jumping in disbelief and I told my boss to confirm it was real and when she did I thought of my mom and my daughter.

  4. Gwyneth Paltrow:

    He was a very, very important figure in my life. He was my main boss, he gave me incredible opportunity and yet during that time we had a very, very fraught complicated relationship. Highs and lows. And the postscript to that chapter of my life is where it gets extremely complicated for me, because information came to light about who he was and how he was behaving that I didn't know during my already very difficult time with him. So I'm not sure. I'm not sure how I feel.

  5. Tom Burgis:

    Ultimately they owe everything they have to the boss. And with the click of a finger, as he has shown in the past, Vladimir Putin can take everything, however influential they may seem, they are ultimately dependent on him.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

boss#1#4699#10000

Translations for boss

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"boss." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 18 Mar. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/boss>.

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