Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for steamboat. Search instead for sea+boat.
Synonyms

steamboat

American  
[steem-boht] / ˈstimˌboʊt /

noun

  1. a steam-driven vessel, especially a small one or one used on inland waters.

steamboat British  
/ ˈstiːmˌbəʊt /

noun

  1. a boat powered by a steam engine

"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

Etymology

Origin of steamboat

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; steam + 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.

The classic cartoon stars the beloved mascot as the whistling, rascally pilot of a steamboat floating down a river.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2024

Four years after completing her studies, Flora married Edwin Patterson of Ripley, Ohio, and they settled in nearby Cincinnati where he was a steamboat pilot.

From Scientific American • Jan. 26, 2023

In many ways the steamboat was as much a slice of gold rush America as much as it was a slice of the Pacific Northwest.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 25, 2022

Another law did the same for steamboat passengers.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2022

The ferry sauropod navigated between huge armored warships and around a steamboat before docking alongside an ancient wooden frigate with cannons poking out of either side.

From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older

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.