as in leader
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do
every morning the boss hands out a list of top-priority tasks
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
slang
as in excellent
of the very best kind
that's a really boss stereo you've got
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to supervise
to be in charge of
she bossed that project for years, until she was promoted again
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in to rule
to exercise authority or power over
bossed the entire job site for a year
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in to lead
to serve as leader of
bossed the entire gang of electricians on the construction project
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of boss
Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
This new iteration was partly handled by Room40 label boss Lawrence English, who reconstructed the original master tapes and blended them with recent performances by Lockwood and Vanessa Tomlinson, who plays the gong.
—Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2025
This excludes things like putting in legendaries for end of mission rewards or taking them out of non-boss chests.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
Sun Ra was simultaneously impish and imperious, bossing us with wiggles of his hands.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for boss
Noun
Not many employees working in corporate America have any say in who their boss is.
—Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 28 Apr. 2026
This new iteration was partly handled by Room40 label boss Lawrence English, who reconstructed the original master tapes and blended them with recent performances by Lockwood and Vanessa Tomlinson, who plays the gong.
—Joshua Minsoo Kim, Pitchfork, 28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
That’s basically the boss level of the shopping game—and usually requires hours of research.
—Alexandra Emanuelli, Southern Living, 20 Nov. 2025
This excludes things like putting in legendaries for end of mission rewards or taking them out of non-boss chests.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2021
Verb
Pop trends For the last several years, girls bossed the pop charts.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2026
Sun Ra was simultaneously impish and imperious, bossing us with wiggles of his hands.
—Literary Hub, 13 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for boss
Recent Examples of Synonyms for boss
Noun
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The crowd includes top business leaders, including Apple’s Tim Cook and NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Senior defender Peyton Johnson, Elizabeth’s older sister, is Oswego’s other team leader.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Soft white sand, clear waters and excellent surf draw beachgoers to this vast beach.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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This makes buffalo grass an excellent choice for naturally controlling soil erosion.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Staff are on hand 24 hours a day to supervise crafts and games, water sports, reef fishing, cookery classes, crab hunts, and marine biologist excursions.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Apr. 2026
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Also, the researchers sometimes caught the Claudes trying to cheat by simply instructing the strong model directly rather than figuring out ways to get the weak teacher to supervise the strong model.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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That 2024 decision sidestepped the core issues, however, by ruling that the antiabortion doctors behind the case didn’t have legal standing to sue.—
Geoff Mulvihill,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
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Louisiana appealed the decision to the Fifth Circuit, which ruled Friday in its favor.—
Aria Bendix,
NBC news,
1 May 2026
Verb
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The senior catcher/outfielder leads by example, according to Joliet Catholic coach Jared Voss, who pointed to Martin working extra hard to get the tarp fastened down on the field after Monday’s East Suburban Catholic Conference game with Marist was postponed due to rain.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
5 May 2026
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Of course, Edgecombe, who’d held Brunson to less than 42% shooting from the field during individual regular-season matchups, led the defensive charge in a 27-point barrage from the Knicks’ captain through the opening two quarters alone.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
5 May 2026
Noun
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Mentorship opens unexpected doors The shop foreman at Sam Pack encouraged him to take advantage of industry certification opportunities at Dallas College while also pursuing a degree.—
Robbie Owens,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Chavez, who worked as a construction foreman at the lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico, disappeared in May 2025.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Count Dooku Christopher Lee with an awesome cape and a lightsaber.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
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In addition, the action includes top-tier spider combat and awesome web-slinging and web-gliding traversal abilities.—
George Yang,
PC Magazine,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Chuck Paterakis, who oversees transportation for Schmidt Bakery, said the driver was transporting products from the company when the incident occurred.—
Jay Blackman,
NBC news,
4 May 2026
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Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, whose staff oversees the cases of more than 600 adults under guardianship and has helped champion the bill, said face-to-face meetings are standard practice in his office prior to appointment and are crucial to properly assessing the person’s needs.—
Christy Gutowski,
Chicago Tribune,
3 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Boss.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/boss. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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