boat

American  

[boht] / boʊt /

noun

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

2. a small ship, generally for specialized use.

   a fishing boat.

3. a small vessel carried for use by a large one, as a lifeboat.

   They lowered the boats for evacuation.

4. a ship.

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

6. a serving dish resembling a boat.

   a gravy boat;

   a celery boat.

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

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verb (used without object)

1. to go in a boat.

   We boated down the Thames.

verb (used with object)

1. to transport in a boat.

   They boated us across the bay.

2. to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships.

idioms

1. in the same boat, in the same circumstances; faced with the same problems.

   The new recruits were all in the same boat.

2. miss the boat,

   1. to fail to take advantage of an opportunity.

      He missed the boat when he applied too late to get into college.

   2. to miss the point of; fail to understand.

      I missed the boat on that explanation.

3. rock the boat. rock.

boat British  

/ bəʊt /

noun

1. 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

2. (not in technical use) another word for ship

3. navy a submarine

4. a container for gravy, sauce, etc

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

6. sharing the same problems

7. See burn 1

8. to lose an opportunity

9. informal to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively

10. informal to cause a disturbance in the existing situation

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verb

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

2. (tr) to transport or carry in a boat

boat More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

• boatable
  adjective
• boatless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of boat

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

Explanation

A boat is a water craft, a vessel that floats and can be propelled through the water. If you buy a private island, you'll need a boat to get there. A lobster boat travels across ocean bays powered by a small motor, and a sail boat is moved by the wind hitting its sails at a particular angle. A much smaller type of boat is a gravy boat, a boat-shaped serving dish that holds a sauce. Boat is sometimes used as a verb, meaning "to go out in a boat." The Old English root is bat, "ship or vessel," from a Germanic source.

Example Sentences

The Hondius was far from the Love Boat.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

The company is confident in its ability to find workers, Rayha said in an interview, adding that Electric Boat had received tens of thousands of applications in the past three years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Adding to the challenge is that Electric Boat went years without aggressively hiring, so the company’s staff is mostly a mix of seniors and newcomers, Baker said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Cambridge won a fourth consecutive Men's Boat Race as Oxford claimed their first victory in the women's race since 2016.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

My classmates’ parents worked at Electric Boat, the Navy and the Coast Guard.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• barge
• canoe
• catamaran
• craft
• dinghy
• gondola
• raft
• sailboat
• schooner
• ship
• yacht