outboard motor
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of outboard motor
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
So when engine-maker Mercury Marine showed him an outboard motor that generates more horsepower than a Ferrari Portofino, he wanted four.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The family was aboard the Pangaboat, a small boat with an outboard motor, along with several other people when it capsized at Del Mar Beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2025
They departed on Easter Sunday for Pikelot Atoll, about 115 miles away, in a traditional 20-foot skiff with an outboard motor, the Coast Guard added.
From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2024
Temple, set up a fair distance from the community’s push-off point, was double-checking the outboard motor of his canoe.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2023
Two men in khaki uniforms were on board, busy trying to start up the outboard motor.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
![]()
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.