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1A boy employed on a sailing warship to carry powder to the guns.
‘But several captains wrote to support the women, whom they said had been seamstresses, medical assistants and even powder monkeys.’
‘Britain is at war with France, and being a powder monkey is one of the most dangerous jobs - Sam's predecessor was blown to smithereens.’
‘But Gaston, despite this, had never known true hunger, because from the day he learnt to walk, had been employed upon a ship as a powder monkey, and his father as an able seaman.’
‘The powder monkeys stood ready to begin their task and Captain John Cooke and his officers paced the quarter deck or at their respective stations.’
1.1North American informal A person who works with explosives.