outrigger
Americannoun
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a framework extended outboard from the side of a boat, especially, as in South Pacific canoes, supporting a float that gives stability.
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a bracket extending outward from the side of a racing shell, to support an oarlock.
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the shell itself.
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a spar rigged out from a ship's rail or the like, as for extending a sail.
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a long, flexible rod, attached to a fishing boat near the stern, along which a fishing line may be threaded to keep it clear of the boat's wake when trolling.
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a structure extending outward from a vehicle, vessel, or aircraft to increase stability or provide support for something.
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a projecting beam, as for supporting a hoisting tackle.
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a horizontal steel beam extending the base of a crane.
noun
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a framework for supporting a pontoon outside and parallel to the hull of a boat to provide stability
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a boat equipped with such a framework, esp one of the canoes of the South Pacific
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any projecting framework attached to a boat, aircraft, building, etc, to act as a support
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rowing another name for rigger
Etymology
Origin of outrigger
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.
Observations show the people use narrow outrigger canoes, live in large communal huts, carry spears, bows and arrows, and wear fibre waistbelts, as well as necklaces and headbands.
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
A custom paint job on an outrigger canoe on the Ka’anapali coast.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2024
Colourful outrigger canoes bob around on water so clear they could be floating in mid-air.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2023
If a burst is detected, data from the outrigger dishes allow the telescope to zoom in and pin the FRB to its galaxy.
From Science Magazine • Mar. 31, 2023
This boat was plain and simple, with no sail or outrigger, and, as it moved closer, Razi saw it had some strange lettering etched on the side.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
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.
