boat people

American  

plural noun

1. refugees who have fled a country by boat, usually without sufficient provisions, navigational aids, or a set destination, especially those who left Indochina by sea as a result of the fall of South Vietnam in 1975.

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boat people British  

plural noun

1. refugees, esp from Vietnam in the late 1970s, who leave by boat hoping to be picked up by ships of another country

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Etymology

Origin of boat people

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boat people

They are part of a loose community of boat people, all of whom are outcasts in some way, living on the fringe of London in 1961.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

The four people killed in the Cuban shootdown included two young men -- Carlos Costa and Mario de la Pena -- who only wanted to save boat people, said Gonzalez.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

None mentioned his flight from Vietnam as a refugee, in the mass exodus of the so-called "boat people".

From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2023

However, only people being towed behind a boat, people on motor-powered personal watercraft and children 12 years or younger on moving boats 19 feet or smaller have to wear them.

From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2022

Refugees known as "boat people" continued to leave Vietnam for more than a decade after the Communist takeover, particularly during the late '70s.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge