Dutchman
name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A Dutch man; a man from the Netherlands.
"About ten months ago a report reached my ears that a Dutchman had constructed a telescope, by the aid of which visible objects, although at a great distance from the eye of the observer, were seen distinctly as if near; […]"
- 2 A piece of wood or stone used to repair a larger piece, shaped such that it fills as exactly as possible a void or cavity that is to be repaired.
- 3 a male native or inhabitant of Holland wordnet
- 4 A man of Dutch descent.
- 5 A flaw or void repaired with such a piece.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A male Pennsylvania German. US
- 7 A cloth strip attached to a flat to conceal a joint.
- 8 A male German. archaic, dated
"[…]There have been at least four legendary Lost Dutchman's gold mines in the American West, including the famed Superstition mine of Jacob Waltz."
- 9 Ellipsis of Flying Dutchman (“a ghost ship”). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 10 A male white Afrikaner. South-Africa, derogatory
"[…]the tyranny of the rockspiders, crunchies, hairybacks, ropes, and bloody Dutchmen. Those were the names by which we referred to Afrikaners."
- 11 Ellipsis of Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 1 A nickname for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. US
"President Roosevelt called a press conference in the Oval Office. [...] when asked where the Billys had originated, the Dutchman smiled broadly [...]."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"An Englishman, a Belgian and a Dutchman enter a pub and sit down at the counter. Says the barkeeper, "Wait a minute, is this a joke or what?""
Etymology
From Middle English Ducheman; equivalent to Dutch + -man.
From Dutchman. Attested mainly in the US from the late 19th century.
Related phrases
More for "dutchman"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.