motorboat

American

[moh-ter-boht] / ˈmoʊ tərˌboʊt /

noun

a boat propelled by an inboard or outboard motor.

verb (used without object)

to travel in or operate a motorboat.

to motorboat from Hyannis to Martha's Vineyard.

motorboat British

/ ˈməʊtəˌbəʊt /

noun

any boat powered by a motor

"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

motorboater noun

Etymology

Origin of motorboat

First recorded in 1900–05; motor + 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.

Adrienne Vaughan, 45, the head of the US branch of Bloomsbury publishing house, died after she was flung from the motorboat in the holiday hotspot in southern Italy in August 2023.

From Barron's • Nov. 21, 2025

On a recent morning, Miller steered a motorboat to the islands where gulls nest.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025

In essence, it was a big raft, with tall, reinforced sides on 60 empty steel drums for buoyancy, towed by motorboat.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2025

The Magura V5, named after a Slavic goddess of war, looks like a small motorboat with a flat surface instead of passenger seats.

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2024

The wings lifted and dipped in the blustering wind like a motorboat riding swells.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein

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