dinghy

noun

din·​ghy ˈdiŋ-ē 

-gē

plural dinghies

1

a

: a small boat carried on or towed behind a larger boat as a tender or a lifeboat

b

: a small sailboat

2

: a rubber life raft

3

: a rowboat or sailboat used to carry passengers or cargo on the coasts of India especially in sheltered waters around the peninsula

Synonyms of dinghy

• yacht
• ship
• schooner
• sailboat
• sloop
• frigate

Examples of dinghy in a Sentence

we went sailing on the secluded lake in a little two-person dinghy

Recent Examples on the Web

Brian Hooker told local investigators that his wife fell from the dinghy and was swept away in the current with the keys to the boat, forcing him to paddle back to shore. —Cristian Benavides, CBS News, 28 May 2026

More than 700 rescuers equipped with underwater sonar devices, dinghies and drones were deployed Sunday to search for the missing people and the truck. —ABC News, 17 May 2026

The lifeguard pursued me in a gray metal dinghy with a bullhorn, ordering me out of the water and yanking me up over the side of his boat. —Literary Hub, 15 May 2026

One of these dozen pictures shows a chubby, balding man, shirtless, in a small dinghy. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 14 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Bengali ḍiṅgi, Urdu ḍīngī & Hindi ḍieṁgī

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for dinghy

• springy
• stringy

Kids Definition

dinghy

noun

din·​ghy ˈdiŋ-ē 

-gē

plural dinghies

1

: a small rowboat or sailboat

especially : one carried on a larger boat

2

: a rubber life raft