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boatman

[boht-muh n]
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noun, plural boat·men.
  1. a person skilled in the use of small craft.
  2. a person who sells, rents, or works on boats.
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Also boatsman.

Origin of boatman

First recorded in 1505–15; boat + -man
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

ferrymanboatmanoargondolier

Examples from the Web for boatman

Historical Examples

  • Nodding to the boatman, "The Steen landing—quickly," he said in French.

    The Black Bag

    Louis Joseph Vance

  • But, if you will please to see if my boatman is there, I shall be obliged to you.'

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • I paid six florins in gold to the boatman who took me from Bamberg to Frankfurt.

    Albert Durer

    T. Sturge Moore

  • He stood ready to receive and deliver it to the boatman who had landed below.

  • His voice had suddenly become cold, and he signed to his boatman.

    A Spirit in Prison

    Robert Hichens

British Dictionary definitions for boatman

boatman

noun plural -men
  1. a man who works on, hires out, repairs, or operates a boat or boats
  2. short for water boatman
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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