flying boat

American  

noun

1. a seaplane whose main body is a hull adapted for floating.

---

flying boat British  

noun

1. a seaplane in which the fuselage consists of a hull that provides buoyancy in the water

---

Etymology

Origin of flying boat

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Last year, a Catalina flying boat was flown over Flt Lt Cruickshank's home in Aberdeen to mark his 104th birthday.

From BBC • Aug. 16, 2025

“I heard a rumbling sound and saw a flying boat, as Thais called it back then,” recalled an animated Mr. Sao, now 87.

From New York Times • May 24, 2022

Here, after World War II, the quixotic — all right, yes, and the downright weird — aviator/producer/industrialist Howard Hughes built the enormous wooden flying boat that just about everyone but Hughes called the Spruce Goose.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2022

Departures and arrivals are two of the most difficult maneuvers on a flying boat, which requires more than a thousand yards of calm, clear water for smooth flight to begin or end.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 7, 2021

But how do you explain being visited by your missing brother in a dream where you took a flying boat to go look at some underwater trains without sounding delusional?

From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston