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catboat

American

[kat-boht] / ˈkætˌboʊt /

noun

a boat having one mast set well forward with a single large sail.

catboat British

/ ˈkætˌbəʊt /

noun

Shortened form: cat. a sailing vessel with a single mast, set well forward and often unstayed, and a large sail, usually rigged with a gaff

"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 catboat

First recorded in 1875–80; cat ( def. ) + 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.

He lowered the ensign to half-mast as stipulated by naval custom, sailed the catboat safely back to harbor.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ever since he got his first catboat at eleven, Bostonian George O'Day, 40, has idolized sailboats.

From Time Magazine Archive

If a case is pending in a Paris court, it has to wait; the judge is sailing a catboat on the Riviera.

From Time Magazine Archive

Rena was no scow-like catboat, but a sleek four-master, bound around the Horn with a bone in her teeth in search of rare spices and the priceless treasure of the Indies.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

A catboat was just leaving the harbor as we sailed in.

From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk

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