boat people

American  

plural noun

1. refugees who have fled a country by boat, usually without sufficient provisions, navigational aids, or a set destination, especially those who left Indochina by sea as a result of the fall of South Vietnam in 1975.

---

boat people British  

plural noun

1. refugees, esp from Vietnam in the late 1970s, who leave by boat hoping to be picked up by ships of another country

---

Etymology

Origin of boat people

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boat people

American sentiment was turning against newcomers, whether Vietnamese refugees, Cuban and Haitian boat people, Central Americans fleeing civil wars or Mexicans looking for economic opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

The four people killed in the Cuban shootdown included two young men -- Carlos Costa and Mario de la Pena -- who only wanted to save boat people, said Gonzalez.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

Let’s give British Jews the same chance America once gave Irish famine victims, Russian dissidents, Vietnamese boat people, and Afghan translators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025

The rescue came days after Malta was criticised by a senior Italian politician as well as charities Alarm Phone and Sea Watch for failing to rescue boat people in its search and rescue zone.

From Reuters ● Apr. 17, 2023

Around me the newly arrived boat people talk excitedly to their friends and family, and deliver them news of relatives in Vietnam.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung