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motorboat

American  
[moh-ter-boht] / ˈmoʊ tərˌboʊt /

noun

motorboats plural
  1. a boat propelled by an inboard or outboard motor.


verb (used without object)

  1. to travel in or operate a motorboat.

    to motorboat from Hyannis to Martha's Vineyard.

motorboat British  
/ ˈməʊtəˌbəʊt /

noun

  1. 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

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

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.

See Examples For:

Three months ago, the only thing John Tortorella planned to do in the spring was purchase a 24-foot motorboat to take his grandchildren fishing in Florida.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 5, 2026

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

This summer, Carle has continued his research at night, setting out in a motorboat on Mono Lake to catch phalaropes.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 22, 2025

A local fisherman, Giuseppe, told Reuters he was on board a motorboat when he saw "mats and T-shirts floating in the sea".

From BBC Aug. 19, 2024

He picked up Alvin and Beulah, cradling them one by one into the motorboat.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

In Miami, McCartney’s photos burst into Kodachrome color and the newly minted celebrities seem to bloom in glamorous new surroundings: lounging poolside, sipping scotch and riding around in motorboats.

From New York Times Feb. 9, 2024

In the weekend’s signature hydroplane racing event, motorboats can reach speeds faster than 200 mph, and daredevils can watch competitors whoosh by from the Log Boom, where spectator boats are tied to anchored logs.

From Seattle Times Jul. 14, 2023

The vast majority of the attacks were on sailboats or catamarans, with a handful involving fishing boats and motorboats.

From Scientific American May 24, 2023

Required to be registered are motorboats and sailboats longer than 8 feet.

From Los Angeles Times May 15, 2023

Its gray skin was covered with blotches of green-and-brown algae, and scars from years of encounters with motorboats crisscrossed its back.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

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