tugboat
Americannoun
-
tugboats
plural
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of tugboat
Explanation
A tugboat is a water craft that's used to move other boats by pushing or pulling them. In an active harbor, you'll often see tugboats assisting larger vessels as they maneuver in or out of the crowded area. Tugboat engines are typically fairly strong, so they can tow — or tug — boats that are bigger. Some tugboats also help move boats that can't steer or power themselves, like barges or ships that are disabled.
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.
See Examples For:
The film is not about a tugboat operator, nor does it follow the life and times of the ramshackle group working at a service garage.
From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2026
In addition, three bulk carriers, two container ships, a tugboat, and an oil drilling vessel have reported explosions, strikes, or suspicious activity in the area.
From Barron's ● Mar. 10, 2026
The navy continued to shadow the Russian submarine and its tugboat until it approached the north-west of France, at which point tracking of it was handed over to a Nato ally.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
“We’re modernizing their tugboat and deploying it into the Port of L.A., and we’re able to provide charging infrastructure as well.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
The Americans are arguing with the captain and a man who climbed aboard from a tugboat.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Emergency responders surrounded each vessel with four firefighting tugboats, separated them and towed them away from critical port infrastructure while battling the flames.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
Replacing the roughly 2,000 tugboats in the U.S. with electric alternatives could prevent more than 1.6 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to Arc.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2025
The coastguard says it has located and detained Ceres I, sailing under the flag of São Tomé and Príncipe, and two tugboats that were towing the vessel off the country's eastern coast.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2024
This was said despite Ecology and the Board of Pilotage Commissioners evaluating the expanded use of tugboats to escort small tankers and oil barges in case of an emergency.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
He used to be a tugboat captain, and tugboats are made of steel, but he knows a thing or two about wooden boats and gives me a thumbs-up on what I done so far.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
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.
