boat
Americannoun
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boats
plural
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a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion.
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a small ship, generally for specialized use.
a fishing boat.
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a small vessel carried for use by a large one, as a lifeboat.
They lowered the boats for evacuation.
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a ship.
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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.
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Ecclesiastical. a container for holding incense before it is placed in the censer.
verb (used without object)
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boats,
present (3rd person singular)
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boated,
past participle, past
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boating
present participle
verb (used with object)
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boats,
present (3rd person singular)
-
boated,
past participle, past
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boating
present participle
-
to transport in a boat.
They boated us across the bay.
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to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships.
idioms
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in the same boat, in the same circumstances; faced with the same problems.
The new recruits were all in the same boat.
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miss the boat,
-
to fail to take advantage of an opportunity.
He missed the boat when he applied too late to get into college.
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to miss the point of; fail to understand.
I missed the boat on that explanation.
-
-
rock the boat. rock.
noun
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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
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(not in technical use) another word for ship
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navy a submarine
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a container for gravy, sauce, etc
-
a small boat-shaped container for incense, used in some Christian churches
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sharing the same problems
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See burn 1
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to lose an opportunity
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informal to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively
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informal to cause a disturbance in the existing situation
verb
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(intr) to travel or go in a boat, esp as a form of recreation
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(tr) to transport or carry in a boat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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boatsimple
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boatssimple
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have boatedperfect
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has boatedperfect
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am boatingprogressive
-
are boatingprogressive
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is boatingprogressive
-
have been boatingperfect progressive
-
has been boatingperfect progressive
Past
-
boatedsimple
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had boatedperfect
-
was boatingprogressive
-
were boatingprogressive
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had been boatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing boat
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A broad coalition of environmentalists, cattle ranchers, farmers, river boat guides, outdoor activists and church leaders had gone to court in El Paso seeking to stop the construction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
The death toll from the sinking of a migrant boat off Senegal rose to 39 on Monday, authorities said -- one of the country's deadliest migration tragedies in recent years.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
He says he’ll fish and finally finish the boat he’s been restoring in the garage since 2011.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
Senegalese authorities also said they had intercepted 142 migrants on Friday who were on a similar small boat aiming to reach Spain.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
And that’s when I saw Regan Fitz board the boat.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
What began as a small procession of decorated barges filled with singing church choirs has grown into an institution in Long Beach with more than 100 entries, from Duffys to dragon boats, and 60,000 spectators.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Since the start of November, El Hierro authorities said more than 3,300 people had arrived aboard around 30 boats.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2026
When correlations are low, it means a rising tide is no longer lifting all boats, like it normally would.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 8, 2026
The recent Telegraph revelation of more than 500 incidents where Russian boats have been stationed above undersea cables has also caused concern.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
The quay was largely deserted, boats stowed for the night, except for a cluster of men on the quayside, drinking coffee from a thermos.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Despite his disabilities, Morris rode, hiked and boated on frequent excursions in upstate New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Authorities are trying to learn how the perpetrator gained access to the beach, including whether they boated over from the other side of the lake, investigators have said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
This summer, ProPublica journalists hiked and boated across Rubkona County, the epicenter of South Sudan’s outbreak and home to the country’s largest refugee camp, to interview families that the U.S. cut off from help.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
"Nowadays it has to be boated off. It's just not realistic at all. But it captures everyone's imagination."
From BBC ● May 5, 2025
With the Marine Jungschar, the naval branch of the Hitler Youth, Herbert boated on the waters in Tetlow Park in eastern Berlin.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The town grew up around the reservoir, created in 1916, as a destination for fishing, swimming and boating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
Studland Bay Marine Partnership is made up of conservation charities, boating organisations, academics, statutory bodies, community groups and businesses, with the aim of restoring Studland's seagrass.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
When she feels up to it, they go boating or ride bicycles to nearby beaches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Residents of the city, which is nestled in the Appalachian foothills with the Tennessee River running through the heart of a lively downtown, enjoy a variety of outdoor activities including hiking, biking and boating.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
We found we had so much in common—bicycling, boating and fishing.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
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