houseboat

[hous-boht]

noun

a flat-bottomed, bargelike boat fitted for use as a floating dwelling but not for rough water.

verb (used without object)

to travel or live on a houseboat.

Origin of houseboat

First recorded in 1780–90; house + boat

Related formshouse·boat·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for houseboat

Contemporary Examples of houseboat

Some time later, Giovanditto took D and two other male students for a ride on a houseboat he had rented.
Murder in Celebration, Florida: The Victim’s Secret Life
Barbara Spindel, Maria Elena Fernandez
September 10, 2012

Historical Examples of houseboat

Both in town and country, the riffraff of the houseboat element are in disfavor.
Afloat on the Ohio
Reuben Gold Thwaites
Another time I had accompanied my father on a trip on the Ganges in his houseboat.
My Reminiscences
Rabindranath Tagore
Dick, when I buy a houseboat I'm going to engage you as captain.
The Rover Boys on the Farm
Arthur M. Winfield (AKA Edward Stratemeyer)
The houseboat was now only a little more than a quarter of a mile from the beach.
Madge Morton's Secret
Amy D. V. Chalmers
The voices were not those of any member of the houseboat party.
Madge Morton's Secret
Amy D. V. Chalmers

British Dictionary definitions for houseboat

houseboat

noun

a stationary boat or barge used as a home

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 houseboat

1790, from house (n.) + boat (n.).