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boathouse

American  
[boht-haus] / ˈboʊtˌhaʊs /

noun

  • boathouses
    plural
  1. a building or shed, usually built partly over water, for sheltering a boat or boats.


boathouse British  
/ ˈbəʊtˌhaʊs /

noun

  1. a shelter by the edge of a river, lake, etc, for housing boats

"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 Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of boathouse

First recorded in 1715–25; boat + house


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 separate guesthouse provides another four bedrooms, while the resortlike grounds offer a host of high-end amenities, including a tennis court, swimming pool, gym, wine cellar, private beach, docks, and boathouse.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

There was this moment where we went down to the boathouse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Absent from the park is an adequate boathouse, so a new rental stand or similar structure would need to be set up for the operation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

It was those watchmen who came to the boathouse to report that they’d spotted a man in a waterproof jacket drag the Zodiac up the embankment.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025

We walked down the hill to the boathouse together.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

And I have a special touristic affection for Boathouse Row, the collection of 19th century boathouses along the Schuylkill River just west of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

This 105-acre property, Camp Topridge, features, according to ProPublica, “an artificial waterfall and a great hall” for dining, and “more than 25 fireplaces, three boathouses, clay tennis court, and batting cage.”

From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2023

Outlining a cluster of historic boathouses along the Schuylkill River near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the twinkly lights reflect off the water and give definition to the unique architecture of each building.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 18, 2023

In 79 C.E., in a desperate attempt to escape the impact of the Mount Vesuvius eruption, the people of Herculaneum huddled in boathouses along the town’s waterfront, situated on the west coast of central Italy.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 25, 2021

Meanwhile masons and carpenters were at work building a large and stately new boathouse, Haus West, just east of the permanent grandstands, supplementing two large existing boathouses, Haus Mitte and Haus Ost.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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