towboat

[ toh-boht ]

noun
  1. a diesel-powered or steam-powered boat used especially on inland waterways to push groups of barges lashed to it in front or on one side or both.

Origin of towboat

1
First recorded in 1805–15; tow1 + boat

Words Nearby towboat

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

How to use towboat in a sentence

  • "Your passenger is not going back with you, sir," he called down over the rail to the towboat captain.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day
  • "Ain't so sure about that, sir," stated the towboat man, loafing into an easier attitude.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day
  • The towboat man was not enough interested to listen to statements concerning the Conomo's condition.

    Blow The Man Down | Holman Day
  • Both Hicks and Flaherty had grown old in the towboat service and the rules of the road rested lightly on their sordid souls.

    Captain Scraggs | Peter B. Kyne
  • The towboat men held a council of war and decided to drown Scraggs out.

    Captain Scraggs | Peter B. Kyne

British Dictionary definitions for towboat

towboat

/ (ˈtəʊˌbəʊt) /


noun
  1. another word for tug (def. 5)

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