whaleboat

American  

[hweyl-boht, weyl-] / ˈʰweɪlˌboʊt, ˈweɪl- /

noun

1. a long, narrow boat designed for quick turning and use in rough seas: formerly used in whaling, whale, whaling, now mainly for sea rescue.

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whaleboat British  

/ ˈweɪlˌbəʊt /

noun

1. Also called: whaler.  a narrow boat from 20 to 30 feet long having a sharp prow and stern, formerly used in whaling

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Etymology

Origin of whaleboat

First recorded in 1665–75; whale ¹ + boat

Example Sentences

Day and night, the so-called whaleboats ply the mighty Congo River -- the second longest in Africa and the deepest in the world -- overloaded with both people and cargo.

From Barron's

After a half an hour, we were approached by a whaleboat, also marked with a lantern upon her, and the two drifted without words until they were joined in comfortable parallel.

From Literature

He’s also particularly proud of a 30-foot-long whaleboat piece inside Facebook’s South Lake Union offices, but the audience for that is limited to the outpost’s 1,600 employees.

From Seattle Times

Throughout the morning, families streamed aboard to tour the ship and take part in whaleboat demos and chantey singing, oblivious to us and our bedrolls.

From Washington Post

Mr. Dyer has also found journals that illustrate seamen’s hunting triumphs on specific whaleboats, although other archival records of the voyages show the slaughters never actually happened.

From New York Times