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
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 Web
George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
Meeting The Largest Dinosaur Over the next few days, the trip goes to the Peninsula Valdez for more whale viewing from the boat, observation of a colony of penguins and the beginning of the search for dinosaur fossils.
—Laurie Werner, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Judy Koutsky, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
In 2024, there were three drownings, 30 total boating incidents, 21 total injuries, and one boating fatality at Lake Lanier, the Georgia DNR's data shows.
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for boat
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Noun
One four-person crew in a 24-foot open-bow MasterCraft grabbed their life jackets, wisely abandoned the boat and swam to shore.
—George Skelton, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2025
Meeting The Largest Dinosaur Over the next few days, the trip goes to the Peninsula Valdez for more whale viewing from the boat, observation of a colony of penguins and the beginning of the search for dinosaur fossils.
—Laurie Werner, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Verb
Explore a collection of boats and yachts, meet industry leaders, and experience hands-on boating demos on Lake Michigan from August 21 - 24 2025 at the return of the Chicago International Boat Show.
—Judy Koutsky, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
In 2024, there were three drownings, 30 total boating incidents, 21 total injuries, and one boating fatality at Lake Lanier, the Georgia DNR's data shows.
—Anthony Robledo, USA Today, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for boat
Cite this Entry
“Boat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boat. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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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