scow

[ skou ]
See synonyms for scow on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of various vessels having a flat-bottomed rectangular hull with sloping ends, built in various sizes with or without means of propulsion, as barges, punts, rowboats, or sailboats.

  2. Eastern U.S. a barge carrying bulk material in an open hold.

  1. an old or clumsy boat; hulk; tub.

verb (used with object)
  1. to transport by scow.

Origin of scow

1
1660–70, Americanism;<Dutch schouw ferryboat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use scow in a sentence

  • For three more days the loading of the scows continued slowly.

    On the Edge of the Arctic | Harry Lincoln Sayler
  • As if dismissing the incident from his mind, he turned toward the scows.

    On the Edge of the Arctic | Harry Lincoln Sayler
  • Besides all these, there were numerous scows loaded with provisions and fuel, and barges conveying horses for packing purposes.

  • "I don't believe there's any law that makes a passenger-boat hold up for scows," grumbled Fogg.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day
  • They had contragravity scows plying between Rivington and Tradetown regularly, now, and air-lorries were linking the villages.

    Space Viking | Henry Beam Piper

British Dictionary definitions for scow

scow

/ (skaʊ) /


noun
  1. an unpowered barge used for freight; lighter

  2. (esp in the midwestern US) a sailing yacht with a flat bottom, designed to plane

Origin of scow

1
C18: via Dutch schouw from Low German schalde, related to Old Saxon skaldan to push (a boat) into the sea

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012