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.

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dinghy British  

/ ˈdɪŋɪ /

noun

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

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verb

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

Etymology

Origin of dinghy

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

Example Sentences

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

From Barron's

Saturday was extremely calm at sea, and the smugglers - adept at studying the weather forecasts - were quick to load large groups of people onto overloaded dinghies.

From BBC

After four months of being exploited in Libya, Esther escaped and crossed the Mediterranean in a rubber dinghy from which she was rescued by the Italian coast guard and taken to the island of Lampedusa.

From BBC

Many of those arrived in the country illegally on small dinghies across the English Channel from France.

From The Wall Street Journal

Last year a BBC investigation exposed how Germany's used as a hub, by small-boat smugglers, to store dinghies that are then used for illegal English Channel crossings.

From BBC

Related Words

• life raft
• lifeboat
• rowboat
• skiff