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

Three officers in a patrol boat saw him and two other people riding in a dinghy with a blue canopy in Cow Channel. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026

Operating as close as possible to the Libyan search-and-rescue zone, its crew deployed fast rigid inflatable boats (RHIBs) to reach overcrowded inflatable dinghies before larger rescue vessels could arrive. — Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 17 July 2026

Two adults and two children were in distress and riding a rubber dinghy on the river, and needed assistance from local police, according to the outlet. — Natasha Dye, PEOPLE, 9 July 2026

The drugs were thought to have been brought over by dinghy from Anzio on the mainland, police said. — Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN Money, 24 June 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