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.

And by a boatload, I mean a battleship-sized boat — sent to sink the rest of the NBA.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

And even if the modern melodrama rarely gets sweepingly positive reviews, they still make a boatload of cash.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

“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

Many more people have arrived by the boatload to our camp while others leave for other countries.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

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