boat

[ boht ]

/ boʊt /

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See synonyms for: boat / boated / boating on Thesaurus.com

noun

a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion.

a small ship, generally for specialized use: a fishing boat.

a small vessel carried for use by a large one, as a lifeboat: They lowered the boats for evacuation.

a ship.

a vessel of any size built for navigation on a river or other inland body of water.

a serving dish resembling a boat: a gravy boat; a celery boat.

Ecclesiastical. a container for holding incense before it is placed in the censer.

verb (used without object)

to go in a boat: We boated down the Thames.

verb (used with object)

to transport in a boat: They boated us across the bay.

to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships.Compare ship¹ (def. 10).

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Idioms about boat

in the same boat, in the same circumstances; faced with the same problems: The new recruits were all in the same boat.

miss the boat, Informal.

to fail to take advantage of an opportunity: He missed the boat when he applied too late to get into college.
to miss the point of; fail to understand: I missed the boat on that explanation.

rock the boat. rock² (def. 17).

Origin of boat

before 900; Middle English boot (noun), Old English bāt; cognate with Old Norse beit

OTHER WORDS FROM boat

boat·a·ble, adjectiveboatless, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH boat

barge, boat , canoe, cruise ship, sailboat, ship, yacht

Words nearby boat

boart, Boas, boast, boaster, boastful, boat, boatage, boatbill, boat bug, boatbuilder, boat deck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use boat in a sentence

Players’ boats docked at Port Tampa Bay to continue the celebration.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers celebrate Super Bowl LV victory in boat parade|Cindy Boren, Glynn A. Hill|February 10, 2021|Washington Post
Lobster boats rumble below Acadia’s cliffs as they move from buoy to buoy pulling traps.
The Ultimate Acadia National Park Travel Guide|Virginia M. Wright|February 8, 2021|Outside Online
The battle against “boat checks” shows how hard it is to weed out the expensive benefits written into police union contracts.
How the Police Bank Millions Through Their Union Contracts|by Andrew Ford, Asbury Park Press, and Agnes Chang, Jeff Kao and Agnel Philip, ProPublica|February 8, 2021|ProPublica
Lippe tested positive, followed by a Bethesda couple she had met on the boat.
900,000 infected. Nearly 15,000 dead. How the coronavirus tore through D.C., Maryland and Virginia.|Rebecca Tan, Antonio Olivo, John D. Harden|February 5, 2021|Washington Post

That’s great if you sell lawnmowers or boat lifts and someone is searching for a specific type or brand of lawnmower or boat lift.
Semantic search drives expanded outreach to potential customers|Nikki Vegenski|February 4, 2021|Search Engine Watch
My captain on the boat, Brazakka, he wanted me to do this Hemingway bit, with the white stubble, and he wanted the hero angle.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The last time there was a raid of this scale was in 2001, when 52 men were arrested on Queen Boat, a floating disco on the Nile.
Sisi Is Persecuting, Prosecuting, and Publicly Shaming Egypt’s Gays|Bel Trew|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On Belgika, Botala and his family watched as the white men loaded their families into a large boat and took off for Kisangani.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Translators—many of whom came by boat themselves—work through the crowds with Italian authorities to take down names and details.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“When the smuggler boat is ready, they call you,” Saed says.
Inside the Smuggling Networks Flooding Europe with Refugees|Barbie Latza Nadeau|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Hoosier hurried on board the boat, and followed Dick's instructions to the letter.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various
But, as the keel of the boats touched bottom, each boat-load dashed into the water and then into the enemy's fire.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
The Comet started on her first trip up the Arkansas, being the first steam boat that ascended that river.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
That he laughed at their folly, and went himself in the boat, ordering his men to take a strong cable along with them.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Many of them were wounded and the worst of these were put into a picket boat which had just that moment come along.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for boat

boat

/ (bəʊt) /

noun

a small vessel propelled by oars, paddle, sails, or motor for travelling, transporting goods, etc, esp one that can be carried aboard a larger vessel

(not in technical use) another word for ship

navy a submarine

a container for gravy, sauce, etc

a small boat-shaped container for incense, used in some Christian churches

in the same boat sharing the same problems

burn one's boats See burn 1 (def. 19)

miss the boat to lose an opportunity

push the boat out British informal to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively

rock the boat informal to cause a disturbance in the existing situation

verb

(intr) to travel or go in a boat, esp as a form of recreation

(tr) to transport or carry in a boat

Word Origin for boat

Old English bāt; related to Old Norse beit boat

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with boat

boat

see burn one's bridges (boats); in the same boat; miss the boat; rock the boat.

boat

Idioms about boat

Origin of boat

OTHER WORDS FROM boat

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH boat

Words nearby boat

Words related to boat

How to use boat in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for boat

Word Origin for boat

Other Idioms and Phrases with boat