tugboat

[ tuhg-boht ]

/ ˈtʌgˌboʊt /

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noun

a small, powerful boat for towing or pushing ships, barges, etc.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Also called towboat, tug.

Origin of tugboat

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30; tug + boat

Words nearby tugboat

tufted titmouse, tufting, tufty, Tu Fu, tug, tugboat, Tugela, tug-of-love, tug of war, tugrik, tui

How to use tugboat in a sentence

They blocked civilians from boarding tugboats by forming a blockade around the walls of the Malecón in the capital.
Cubans took to the streets in 1994, too|Rozzmery Vicente|July 22, 2021|Washington Post
Forty-four of the Jones Act fleet’s 57 tankers are sitting along the Gulf Coast or Eastern Seaboard, in addition to tugboats and barges.
Panic buying strikes Southeastern United States as shuttered pipeline resumes operations|Will Englund, Ellen Nakashima|May 12, 2021|Washington Post
Woronowicz has been working on boats his whole life as a merchant mariner — on tugboats and cruise ships, now as a third mate on a Columbia University ocean research vessel.
Essential, invisible: Covid has 200,000 merchant sailors stuck at sea|Taylor Telford, Jacob Bogage|April 9, 2021|Washington Post
Authorities worked day and night, dredging and using tugboats to dig and pull the ship away from the banks.
How the Ever Given was freed from the Suez Canal: A visual analysis|Atthar Mirza, Júlia Ledur, Ruby Mellen|April 2, 2021|Washington Post

The positions of the Ever Given container ship and the tugboats are based on satellite imagery by Maxar, Airbus Space and Planet, as well as location data from VesselFinder.
How the Ever Given was freed from the Suez Canal: A visual analysis|Atthar Mirza, Júlia Ledur, Ruby Mellen|April 2, 2021|Washington Post
A tugboat improbably sits high on the bank, obscured by tall grass, a broken oil rig hangs over the water nearby.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After airstrikes began, Libyan armed men seized an Italian tugboat in Tripoli used to service the coastal oil platforms.
Italy's Refugee Camp Horror|Barbie Latza Nadeau|March 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A half-mile or more distant from them a big, ocean-going tugboat was passing down the bay, without a tow and under full steam.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
I did not give up the venture there, however, but directed the captain of the tugboat to make directly for the island.
My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands|George Francis Train
A little abaft her beam a tugboat was blowing one long and two short, indicating her tow.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day
It was on the tip of Mayo's tongue to argue the matter with the tugboat man, but he took second thought and shut his mouth.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day
So the young man accepted Captain Dodge's invitation and climbed to the tugboat's pilot-house.
Blow The Man Down|Holman Day