flatboat

[ flat-boht ]

/ ˈflætˌboʊt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flatboat ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a large, flat-bottomed boat for use in shallow water, especially on rivers.

RELATED WORDS

raft, ark, scow, dory, lighter

Nearby words

Origin of flatboat

First recorded in 1650–60; flat¹ + boat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flatboat

In the morning, the loading of the flatboat and the getting ready for departure, took all our thought.
In Indian Mexico (1908)|Frederick Starr
Within a minute of reaching the flatboat it seemed that every one of the pioneers was on board.
The Phantom of the River|Edward S. Ellis
When at last he did fall asleep, he dreamed that he was pushing a flatboat along a Louisiana lagoon.
Bobby Blake on a Plantation|Frank A. Warner
Then, in April, he went on his second expedition to New Orleans in a flatboat.
Noted Speeches of Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln

Night had fallen, the wind blew in violent gusts and the timbers of the flatboat creaked and shuddered.
A Dream of Empire|William Henry Venable

British Dictionary definitions for flatboat

flatboat

/ (ˈflætˌbəʊt) /

noun

any boat with a flat bottom, usually for transporting goods on a canal or river

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

Word Origin and History for flatboat

flatboat

1650s, from flat (adj.) + boat (n.).