Stevedore By Deane Barker • March 29, 2024 • Definition: dockworker; someone who loads and unloads ships This is a phonetic spelling of the Portuguese word for “a man who loads ships and stows cargo.” Also called a “longshoreman.” Why I Looked It Up From How Infrastructure Works: Ships arrived and tired up at the docks, and stevedores would unload the break-bulk cargo, the barrels, boxes, bags, and bundles stowed in the hold to send them on further by land.