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dinghy

American  
[ding-gee] / ˈdɪŋ gi /

noun

plural

dinghies

  1. any small boat designed as a tender or lifeboat, especially a small ship's boat, rowed, sailed, or driven by a motor.

  2. a boat used by warships, having four single-banked oars and a spritsail.

  3. any of various rowing or sailing boats used in sheltered waters along the Indian coasts to transport passengers and freight.

  4. an inflatable life raft.

dinghy British  
/ ˈdɪŋɪ /

noun

  1. Also (esp formerly): dingy.   dingey.  any small boat, powered by sail, oars, or outboard motor

"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

verb

  1. slang (tr) to ignore (a person) or avoid (an event)

"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 dinghy

1785–95; < Bengali diṅgi, Hindi ḍiṅgī, diminutive of ḍiṅgā boat

Explanation

A long journey by sea requires a large ship, but if you’re out for an afternoon on the pond, you may want to take the dinghy, a small boat. A dinghy, pronounced "DING-ee," is a lifeboat found on board of a ship in case of emergency, but it can also be a rowboat used for fishing or just relaxing out on the water. The unusual spelling of this word reflects its exotic origins, in the Hindi word ḍiṅgī. Be sure to remember to include the silent “h” when you spell dinghy.

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Vocabulary lists containing dinghy

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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.

Russian rapper Yegor Krid dialed a friend as he relaxed on a floating dinghy in a music clip released last year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

The colonizers, four Chagossians aged 31 to 72, clambered aboard a dinghy and came ashore, waving British and American flags.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026

The dinghy they were travelling on became swamped and capsized in the early hours of 24 November 2021, in what became the deadliest Channel small boat incident on record.

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2026

Some 39 people on a rubber dinghy were rescued on Thursday just south of Crete.

From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025

When he saw them he was to get in the dinghy and row to them.

From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.