houseboat

American

[hous-boht] / ˈhaʊsˌboʊt /

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.

houseboat British

/ ˈhaʊsˌbəʊt /

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

Other Word Forms

houseboater

noun

Etymology

Origin of houseboat

First recorded in 1780–90; house + boat

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.

The Green Party has admitted that its leader Zack Polanski has, until recently, been living on a houseboat in London and may have failed to pay council tax.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Matt Gibson, 52, moors his sage-green houseboat, bedecked with plants, on the Regent's Canal near central London.

From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026

Fishing: At Trinity Lake, you can rent a deck boat, pontoon boat or houseboat and try your hand at catching large and smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and Kokanee salmon.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2025

The discovery was named Musankwa sanyatiensis after the houseboat "Musankwa."

From Science Daily • May 30, 2024

“I’m in and I’m not even going to mention one of the thousand potential hazards of houseboat living that have flown into my head.”

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023