dinghy
Americannoun
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any small boat designed as a tender or lifeboat, especially a small ship's boat, rowed, sailed, or driven by a motor.
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a boat used by warships, having four single-banked oars and a spritsail.
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any of various rowing or sailing boats used in sheltered waters along the Indian coasts to transport passengers and freight.
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an inflatable life raft.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
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.
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.
Chinese dissident Dong Guangping reached South Korea in a rubber dinghy after a 30-hour journey, facing immigration charges.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
The Afghan national abandoned a dinghy carrying passengers he was driving across the English Channel when a rescue ship arrived in January, according to the Crown Prosecution Service.
From BBC • May 26, 2026
Earlier this month, another alleged dinghy pilot appeared in court over the deaths of four migrants.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 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
He had seen Maxim take the boat from the moorings, and pull back in the dinghy, alone.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
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.
