Quartermaster

//ˈk(w)ɔɹtɚˌmæstɚ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An officer whose duty is to provide quarters, provisions, storage, clothing, fuel, stationery, and transportation for a regiment or other body of troops, and superintend the supplies. Master of quartering.
  2. 2
    an army officer who provides clothing and subsistence for troops wordnet
  3. 3
    A petty officer who attends to the helm, binnacle, signals, and the like, under the direction of the master. Once master of the quarterdeck.
  4. 4
    A leadership position within a troop whose responsibility it is to track and maintain the troop's equipment, for example stoves, Dutch ovens, utensils, and tents.
Verb
  1. 1
    To act as a quartermaster. ambitransitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
boatswaincaptaincatererchandlerchief engineerchief mate

Example

More examples

"The second-class quartermaster is an experienced sailor responsible for technical or logistical duties."

Etymology

From Middle English quartermayster, quartermaistre, equivalent to quarter + master. Perhaps reinforced by and merged with Dutch kwartiermeester, kwartier-meester. Compare German Quartiermeister, French quartier-maître.

Related phrases

quartermaster generalquartermaster sergeantquartermaster train

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.