bossed

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of boss.

   The foreman bossed the crew without ever lending a hand.

   They felt bossed at every turn by the new supervisor.

   Note

   Two transitive verbs share this one regular form, and only the object tells them apart. A foreman bossed the crew, ordering people about. A silversmith bossed a cup, decorating it with raised knobs, much as one would emboss it. Used before a noun, each participle settles into an adjective: the "under a boss" sense and the "studded with knobs" sense.

2. 2
   adjective

   Having a boss or employer, or being kept under that person's control.

   Bossed employees often carry out rules they had no part in shaping.

   He left to freelance, tired of being bossed by a single employer.

   Similarsupervised, controlled

   Oppositeindependent, self-employed, autonomous

3. 3
   adjective

   Having one or more raised, rounded knobs or studs on the surface, as decoration or as a fitting.

   Restorers polished the bossed silver cup, cleaning each raised stud by hand.

   The medieval ceiling was richly bossed, every rib joint capped with a carved knob.

   Similarstudded, embossed

   Oppositesmooth, plain

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