: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing
called also towboat
Examples of tugboat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The 64-foot working wooden tugboat was built in 1912 and renovated to include one bedroom and one bath.
—
Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Iranian exporters often transfer cargoes between shadow fleet vessels—at times with the aid of tugboats—in the Persian Gulf and in waters off the coast of Singapore and Malaysia in order to disguise the origin of their cargoes.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Length of tugboat means fewer regulations The length of a tugboat is paramount according to maritime regulations, the Miami Herald found.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
Maintaining the tugboat became cumbersome, and three Zizian members opted to move into box trucks before squatting in a Bay Area trailer lot owned by Curtis Lind, then age 80, a former shipworker and grandfather of four.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
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Pueng Vongs, Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2025
Iranian exporters often transfer cargoes between shadow fleet vessels—at times with the aid of tugboats—in the Persian Gulf and in waters off the coast of Singapore and Malaysia in order to disguise the origin of their cargoes.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Length of tugboat means fewer regulations The length of a tugboat is paramount according to maritime regulations, the Miami Herald found.
—David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025
Maintaining the tugboat became cumbersome, and three Zizian members opted to move into box trucks before squatting in a Bay Area trailer lot owned by Curtis Lind, then age 80, a former shipworker and grandfather of four.
—Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tugboat
Cite this Entry
“Tugboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tugboat. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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tugboat
noun
tug·boat
ˈtəg-ˌbōt 
: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing ships
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