boatload

American

[boht-lohd] / ˈboʊtˌloʊd /

noun

the cargo that a vessel carries or is capable of carrying.

boatload British

/ ˈbəʊtˌləʊd /

noun

the amount of cargo or number of people held by a boat or ship

"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

Etymology

Origin of boatload

First recorded in 1670–80; boat + load

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.

“I can’t make it work to where it would be practical to keep going without me spending a boatload of money and keep putting myself into more debt.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 7, 2025

"It's frustrating. That money is going to players who are making an absolute boatload anyway," Murray, who has won three US Open mixed titles, told BBC Sport.

From BBC • Aug. 19, 2025

“We’re going to send a whole boatload of agents,” Homan said on CBS News.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2025

And that's strange since there have been a boatload of them.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2025

Dad’s first rescue job was a boatload of software salesmen from Orlando who were stranded all the way out at Ninemile Bank.

From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023