jolly boat
Americannoun
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a light boat carried at the stern of a sailing vessel.
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a small pleasure sailboat for use in sheltered waters.
noun
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a small boat used as a utility tender for a vessel
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a small sailing boat used for pleasure
Etymology
Origin of jolly boat
1720–30; jolly < Danish jolle yawl 1
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.
Both the sailors on board had been drowned, but the Captain himself had managed to make good his escape in the jolly boat.
From Strange Stories by Allen, Grant
When she was within three miles of the harbour, she lowered the jolly boat, the only one she had left, and it pulled in-shore with a flag of truce hoisted at the bows.
From Peter Simple by Marryat, Frederick
We saw the huge form of the lion contending with the 184 waves; attracted by the voices of men he was making every effort to reach the jolly boat.
From Hair Breadth Escapes Perilous incidents in the lives of sailors and travelers in Japan, Cuba, East Indies, etc., etc. by Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay)
For the first four hours it was doubtful whether the jolly boat, which was in davits across the stern, would last long.
From The Shellback's Progress In the Nineteenth Century by Runciman, Walter
The jolly boat has returned here, bringing the surviving lascars.
From Life of William Carey by Smith, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
