yacht

[ yot ]

noun

1. a vessel used for private cruising, racing, or other noncommercial purposes.

verb (used without object)

1. to sail, voyage, or race in a yacht.

yacht

/ jɒt /

noun

1. a vessel propelled by sail or power, used esp for pleasure cruising, racing, etc
2. short for sand yacht ice yacht

verb

1. intr to sail or cruise in a yacht

Other Words From

• yachty adjective
• super·yacht noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of yacht¹

1550–60; < early Dutch jaght, short for jaghtschip hunting ship, equivalent to Dutch jacht hunt (derivative of jagen to hunt) + schip ship ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of yacht¹

C16: from obsolete Dutch jaghte, short for jahtschip, from jagen to chase + schip ship

Example Sentences

Newspaper accounts from the late 1800s and early 1900s describe manatee sightings in warm water refuges like yacht basins and canals harbors, and later in areas near power plants.

From Science Daily

In the driveway of a lushly landscaped home just off the Malibu coast sits a luxury British automobile, rounded, elegant; a smooth-sailing land yacht.

From Los Angeles Times

Turn right on Bayside Drive, then walk along that street past the yacht clubs and Coast Guard station, turning right on Fernleaf Avenue, which will take you up to Ocean Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch drowned but the cause of his daughter's death when a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily is under investigation, an inquest has heard.

From BBC

Inquests into the deaths of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, who died when their yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, will open on Friday.

From BBC

Related Words

• racer
• sailboat
• sloop