0 a man who works on a lighter (= a low, open boat used to move goods to and from ships in a harbour) or on a barge (= a long boat with a flat bottom, used for carrying heavy objects on rivers or canals):
After a seven-year apprenticeship he qualified as waterman and lighterman on the Thames.
Like many lightermen, Captain Andrews followed his father and grandfather into the trade.
He was apprenticed to his father as a lighterman, and sent to sea at the age of fifteen.
The industry is thriving, with 640 licensed watermen, who ferry passengers, and lightermen who captain freight.
