boat
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.
to go in a boat: We boated down the Thames.
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).
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
1Other words from boat
- boat·a·ble, adjective
- boatless, adjective
Words that may be confused with boat
Words Nearby boat
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 PostLobster 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 OnlineThe 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 | ProPublicaLippe 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 PostThat’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 | THE DAILY BEASTThe 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 | THE DAILY BEASTOn Belgika, Botala and his family watched as the white men loaded their families into a large boat and took off for Kisangani.
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 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEASTHoosier hurried on board the boat, and followed Dick's instructions to the letter.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun; | VariousBut, 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 HamiltonThe 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 MunsellThat 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 SwiftMany 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
/ (bəʊt) /
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
(intr) to travel or go in a boat, esp as a form of recreation
(tr) to transport or carry in a boat
Origin of boat
1Collins 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
see burn one's bridges (boats); in the same boat; miss the boat; rock the boat.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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