merchant marine

noun

1. the crew of a merchant vessel

• Hypernyms: ↑crew

2. conveyance provided by the ships belonging to one country or industry

• Syn: ↑shipping, ↑cargo ships, ↑merchant vessels

• Hypernyms: ↑conveyance, ↑transport

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noun [singular]

chiefly US : all of a country's ships that are used for trading goods rather than for war; also : the people who work such ships

a member of the merchant marine

— called also (Brit) merchant navy

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ˌmerchant ˈnavy [merchant navy] (BrE) (NAmE ˌmerchant maˈrine) noun countable + singular or plural verb

a country's commercial ships and the people who work on them

 

Culture:

The British merchant navy was very important during both world wars for the continued supply of goods to Britain from abroad, and many of its ships were sunk by enemy submarines.

See also ↑Battle of the Atlantic

.