crewmate

Crewmate is a term for a member of a crew, typically referring to colleagues who share in the duties and responsibilities of operating a vessel, aircraft, or space mission. The word emphasizes membership within a team rather than a specific rank. In nautical contexts, crewmates are crew members who work alongside officers and other sailors on a ship. In aviation, crewmates include members of the flight crew and cabin crew, often described collectively as the crew rather than by individual titles.

In modern usage, crewmate is commonly used in science fiction and space-themed settings to denote a fellow crew member. It is also widely recognized in video gaming, notably as a role in the online game Among Us, where crewmates perform tasks around a map and work to identify impostors among the crew.

Etymology and nuance: crewmate combines crew with mate, a term historically used to refer to a companion or associate in service on a vessel. The term does not encode a fixed hierarchy; the exact responsibilities of a crewmate depend on the context and the organization.

Because the concept is broad, crewmate generally connotes collaboration and shared duty, with the precise duties varying by field, culture, and setting.