boat

American  

[boht] / boʊt /

noun

boats plural

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.

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verb (used without object)

boats, present (3rd person singular) boated, past participle, past boating present participle

1. to go in a boat.

   We boated down the Thames.

verb (used with object)

boats, present (3rd person singular) boated, past participle, past boating present participle

1. to transport in a boat.

   They boated us across the bay.

2. to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships.

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,

   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.

boat British  

/ 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. sharing the same problems

7. See burn 1

8. to lose an opportunity

9. informal to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively

10. informal to cause a disturbance in the existing situation

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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

boat More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• boatable
  adjective
• boatless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• boats
  plural

Participles

• boating
  present
• boated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• boat
  simple
• boats
  simple
• have boated
  perfect
• has boated
  perfect
• am boating
  progressive
• are boating
  progressive
• is boating
  progressive
• have been boating
  perfect progressive
• has been boating
  perfect progressive

Past

• boated
  simple
• had boated
  perfect
• was boating
  progressive
• were boating
  progressive
• had been boating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will boat
  simple
• will have boated
  perfect
• will be boating
  progressive
• will have been boating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of boat

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

Explanation

A boat is a water craft, a vessel that floats and can be propelled through the water. If you buy a private island, you'll need a boat to get there. A lobster boat travels across ocean bays powered by a small motor, and a sail boat is moved by the wind hitting its sails at a particular angle. A much smaller type of boat is a gravy boat, a boat-shaped serving dish that holds a sauce. Boat is sometimes used as a verb, meaning "to go out in a boat." The Old English root is bat, "ship or vessel," from a Germanic source.

Example Sentences

For example, the firm owns a German copper plant—one of the biggest in Europe—and a plant in Italy that makes equipment for producing tea bags, and is eyeing a boat manufacturer in England.

From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026

They are wary of a technology more employers are embracing; Masse said his friends “are all pretty much in the same boat as me — they are all pretty anti-AI.”

From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026

There’s the recent story of a Black Hawk helicopter getting downed by an Iranian drone, and then the pilots were rescued by a drone boat.

From Salon • Jun. 22, 2026

On the shore of a nondescript, decaying seaside town, a boat that went missing 30 years ago suddenly reappears.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

Wind foamed the sea, rocked the boat, and whipped at their clothes as they strained to get ashore.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

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