boss1
/bɒs
/informal
noun
1A person who is in charge of a worker or organization: her boss offered her promotion union bosses...
- Four in 10 office workers say they think bosses regularly charge personal items back to the company.
- Union bosses believe railway maintenance workers are still risking their lives because lessons from the Tebay rail tragedy remain unlearned.
- Blum's first act was to stop the strike wave by organising talks between the bosses and the unions.
1.1A person in control of a group or situation: does he see you as a partner, or is he already the boss?...
- Traditionally, men are supposed to be in control and be the boss at work.
- The ENTIRE point of blogs is being the boss and controlling content.
- It does take a while to get used to, but remember, to teach your dog anything, you must be the leader and the boss.
1.2 [often as modifier] (In computer gaming) a particularly tough enemy, usually appearing at the end of a section or level: the boss characters provide more than enough challenge you may be required to kill a boss monster you’ll come up against a giant tank, a floating airship and a returning boss from the first game...
- Random Dungeon rewards will be placed in each player's inventory automatically upon completion of the dungeon (final boss killed).
- There's actually quite a bit of strategy involved in the boss battles.
- You will race against 7 competitors or sometimes you may go up against a boss character.
verb [with object]
Give (someone) orders in a domineering manner: you’re always bossing us about...
- At least they weren't always bossing her around and ordering her around like a slave like Kinchi, but instead treated her like she had always wanted to be treated.
- It seems to me that this Government is reaching new heights in ordering and bossing people about and telling them what it expects them to do.
- They'll say, ‘Will you stop bossing me around?’
Synonyms
order about/around, give orders to, dictate to, impose one's will on, lord it over, bully, push around/about, domineer, dominate, ride roughshod over, trample on, try to control, pressurize, browbeat, use strong-arm tactics on;
throw one's weight about/around, call the shots, lay down the law
informal bulldoze, walk all over, railroad, lean on
adjective North American
Excellent; outstanding: she’s a real boss chick...
- I like that second picture the best; it's a boss shot!
Phrases
be one's own boss
show someone who's boss
Origin
Early 19th century (originally US): from Dutch baas 'master'.
Rhymes
boss2
/bɒs/noun
1A stud on the centre of a shield.As we walked by I saw Yrling's and Toki's war-kits, for they were easy to discern by the fineness of the helmets and the gilt upon the bosses of their shields....
- A number of other male graves contained shield bosses and spear heads, although all traces of the wooden shields and spears had long disappeared.
- Thorfast would at least have had a heavy wooden shield with a metal boss that he'd have held on his left arm. and an eight-foot-long, metal-tipped ash spear.
1.1 Architecture An ornamental carving covering the point where the ribs in a vault or ceiling cross.In the medieval Hall of St Mary, Green Men occur as bosses, corbels, in tapestry, and in stained glass....
- The western bay of the vault, built in 1362, carries a hanging boss suspended by eight dramatic flying ribs.
- Four floral bosses help secure the flying ribs, while an intricate carved star hangs from the center and anchors the inner square.
1.2The central part of a propeller.This kept her propeller boss under water but left the blades breaking the surface....
- A single-seater aircraft, it looked rather tiny, but the 37 mm cannon in its nose, its barrel protruding through the propeller boss, was not.
- Its surface may be flat or curved, or may have a pronounced central boss; its edges may be flat or flanged.
2 Geology A large mass of igneous rock protruding through other strata.They are commonly exposed as small stocks, bosses, sheets and dykes and are often intimately related to the granitoids outlined above....
- The first drops down a fissure in the floor, which leads down to a stalagmite boss partway along the hand traverse.
- Shortly after a chamber with a small shaft off to the left, you need to slide past an impressive stalagmitic boss.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French boce, of unknown origin.
boss3
/bɒs/noun US informal
A cow.
Origin
Early 19th century: of unknown origin.
BOSS4
abbreviation
Bureau of State Security.