rowboat

[roh-boht]

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noun

a small boat designed for rowing.

Origin of rowboat

First recorded in 1530–40; row² + boat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for rowboat

skiff, lifeboat, dinghy, canoe, tender, galleon, trireme, bireme, galiot, galleass

Examples from the Web for rowboat

Contemporary Examples of rowboat

A professional craftsman was recruited to build the rowboat.
Victor Mooney’s Epic Adventure for His Dead Brother
Justin Jones
October 19, 2014

Historical Examples of rowboat

Caradoc made no answer, but stared after the rowboat which was just rounding into the tug.
The Cruise of the Dry Dock
T. S. Stribling
Farther down is a rowboat, in which they start out on the lake.
Oswald Langdon
Carson Jay Lee
Next fellow that owned her ran down a rowboat and drowned a boy.
Frank Merriwell's Cruise
Burt L. Standish
"I'll get at it to-morrow," and with that he swung out into the lake, towing his rowboat after him.
Tom Swift and his Motor-boat
Victor Appleton
Just fasten your boat to the other rowboat and I'll tow you.
Tom Swift and his Motor-boat
Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for rowboat

rowboat

noun

US and Canadian a small boat propelled by one or more pairs of oarsAlso called (in Britain and other countries): rowing boat

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

Word Origin and History for rowboat

also row-boat, 1530s, from row (v.) + boat. Cf. Dutch roeiboot.