plural boats
1
a
: a small vessel for travel on water
b
: ship
2
: a boat-shaped container, utensil, or device
a gravy boat
a laboratory boat
3
informal
: a large car
A lot of people still think Cadillac makes big floaty boats.—
Mark LaNeve
Mark LaNeve
boated; boating; boats
: to place in or bring into a boat
: to go by boat
Synonyms
Examples of boat in a Sentence
Noun
He tied the boat to the dock.
Cruise ships and other boats filled the harbor.
traveling by boat across the ocean
Verb
We boated over to the island.
boated to the picnic site on an island in the bay
Recent Examples on the WebThe Enquirer, 23 Apr. 2024
The Indianapolis Fire Department’s dive team was dispatched at 8:35 p.m. April 16 and sent boats into the river near West New York and Limestone streets west of downtown Indianapolis.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for boat 
Noun
On April 3, workers with Prus Construction took a small, flat-bottomed boat out a few feet from the shore by the dam and climbed atop a stone box where two wheels sat.
—The Enquirer, 23 Apr. 2024
The Indianapolis Fire Department’s dive team was dispatched at 8:35 p.m. April 16 and sent boats into the river near West New York and Limestone streets west of downtown Indianapolis.
—Sarah Nelson, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for boat
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'boat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Boat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boat. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boat
1 of 2 noun1
: a small vessel for travel on water
3
: a boat-shaped utensil
gravy boat
boat
2 of 2 verb1
: to put into or carry in a boat
2
: to travel by boat
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