dinghy

[ding-gee]

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

/ ˈdɪŋɪ /

noun

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

verb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dinghy¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dinghy¹

C19: from Hindi or Bengali dingi a little boat, from dingā boat

Example Sentences

Ten of them are being deployed by a newly branded War Department to Puerto Rico to combat drug traffickers in dinghies.

From Los Angeles Times

Ministers are waiting for the French to stop dinghies leaving the shore and a separate German commitment to change its law so it can seize boats being warehoused there.

From BBC

Meanwhile, a so-called mega dinghy capable of holding more than 100 people was reportedly sighted in the Channel this week, amid concerns that people smugglers could be using larger boats to illegally transport people.

From BBC

Within half an hour of arriving off the French coast, I watched two packed dinghies being escorted into UK waters.

From BBC

It was falsely claimed on social media that the killer had arrived in the UK on a dinghy in 2023.

From BBC

Related Words

• life raft 
• lifeboat 
• rowboat 
• skiff