boss: Meaning and Definition of

boss

Pronunciation: (bôs, bos), [key]
— n.
  1. a person who employs or superintends workers; manager.
  2. a politician who controls the party organization, as in a particular district.
  3. a person who makes decisions, exercises authority, dominates, etc.: My grandfather was the boss in his family.
—v.t.
  1. to be master of or over; manage; direct; control.
  2. to order about, esp. in an arrogant manner.
—v.i.
  1. to be boss.
  2. to be too domineering and authoritative.
—adj.
  1. chief; master.
  2. first-rate.

boss

Pronunciation: (bôs, bos), [key]
— n.
  1. a protuberance or roundish excrescence on the body or on some organ of an animal or plant.
  2. a knoblike mass of rock, esp. an outcrop of igneous or metamorphic rock.
  3. an ornamental protuberance of metal, ivory, etc.; stud.
    1. an ornamental, knoblike projection, as a carved keystone at the intersection of ogives.
    2. a stone roughly formed and set in place for later carving.
  4. one of several pieces of brass or other metal inset into the cover of a book to protect the corners or edges or for decoration.
  5. a small projection on a casting or forging.
  6. a projecting part in a ship's hull, or in one frame of a hull, fitting around a propeller shaft.
—v.t.
  1. to ornament with bosses.
  2. to emboss.
  3. (in plumbing) to hammer (sheet metal, as lead) to conform to an irregular surface.

boss

Pronunciation: (bos, bôs), [key]
— n.
  1. a familiar name for a calf or cow.

boss

Pronunciation: (bos), [key]
— adj. Scot.
  1. hollow; empty.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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