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jolly boat

American  

noun

  1. a light boat carried at the stern of a sailing vessel.

  2. a small pleasure sailboat for use in sheltered waters.

jolly boat British  

noun

  1. a small boat used as a utility tender for a vessel

  2. a small sailing boat used for pleasure

"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

Etymology

Origin of jolly boat

1720–30; jolly < Danish jolle yawl 1

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.