boat

[ boht ]

noun

1. a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion.
2. a small ship, generally for specialized use:

   a fishing boat.

3. a small vessel carried for use by a large one, as a lifeboat:

   They lowered the boats for evacuation.

4. a ship.
5. a vessel of any size built for navigation on a river or other inland body of water.
6. a serving dish resembling a boat:

   a gravy boat;

   a celery boat.

7. Ecclesiastical. a container for holding incense before it is placed in the censer.

verb (used without object)

1. to go in a boat:

   We boated down the Thames.

verb (used with object)

1. to transport in a boat:

   They boated us across the bay.

2. to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships. Compare ship ¹( def 10 ).

boat

/ bəʊt /

noun

1. a small vessel propelled by oars, paddle, sails, or motor for travelling, transporting goods, etc, esp one that can be carried aboard a larger vessel
2. (not in technical use) another word for ship
3. navy a submarine
4. a container for gravy, sauce, etc
5. a small boat-shaped container for incense, used in some Christian churches
6. in the same boat
   sharing the same problems
7. burn one's boats
   See burn 1
8. miss the boat
   to lose an opportunity
9. push the boat out informal.
   to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively
10. rock the boat informal.
    to cause a disturbance in the existing situation

verb

1. intr to travel or go in a boat, esp as a form of recreation
2. tr to transport or carry in a boat

Other Words From

• boata·ble adjective
• boatless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of boat¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English boot (noun), Old English bāt; cognate with Old Norse beit

Word History and Origins

Origin of boat¹

Old English bāt ; related to Old Norse beit boat

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. in the same boat, in the same circumstances; faced with the same problems:

   The new recruits were all in the same boat.

2. miss the boat, Informal.
   1. to fail to take advantage of an opportunity:

      He missed the boat when he applied too late to get into college.

   2. to miss the point of; fail to understand:

      I missed the boat on that explanation.

3. rock the boat. rock ²( def 17 ).

More idioms and phrases containing boat

see burn one's bridges (boats) ; in the same boat ; miss the boat ; rock the boat .

Example Sentences

The last recorded trace was that it had been left under an upturned boat on the battlefield.

From BBC

Fiorentino Halilaj crossed the Channel in a small boat the next day before immigration authorities took possession of his phone, which was handed to the NCA and found with Jameel’s number in the contacts.

From BBC

He was arrested after helping Albanian national Artan Halilaj, 39, of London, to smuggle his relative Fiorentino Halilaj into the country on a small boat, in September 2023.

From BBC

“The whale starts rubbing against the boat,” Joar Hesten, one of the fishermen, says.

From BBC

For more than a year, Bluesky has been the boat for left-leaning Twitter refugees who were so fed up with Musk that they beat the masses in deciding not to stick around on his platform.

From Slate

Related Words

• barge
• canoe
• catamaran
• craft
• dinghy
• gondola
• raft
• sailboat
• schooner
• ship
• yacht