portage

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noun por·tage \ˈpȯr-tij, sense 3 is also pȯr-ˈtäzh\

Definition of portage

1 : the labor of carrying or transporting
2 archaic : the cost of carrying : porterage
3a : the carrying of boats or goods overland from one body of water to another or around an obstacle (such as a rapids)b : the route followed in making such a transfer

Recent Examples of portage from the Web

This process required portage, carrying the product across dry ground from the edge of the lake to the river.

— lindsay bierman, Southern Living, "The New Must-Have Coffee Table Book: New Roads and Old Rivers," 11 July 2017
Then, a quick portage to saltwater was all that was required.

— lynda v. mapes, The Seattle Times, "Water’s natural rhythms nourished our area’s native culture. Then came the Ballard Locks.," 29 June 2017
Portage: Eric Lewis 74, Brandon Blue 84, Ethan Ortiz 86, Trenton Haraminac 91.

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Post-Tribune Local Scoreboard for Thursday, May 25," 24 May 2017
Portage: Eric Lewis 37, Brandon Blue 42, Ethan Ortiz 42, Trenton Harmina 51, Nik Pavlinac 51.

— Post-Tribune, "Post-Tribune Local Scoreboard for Thursday, April 27," 26 Apr. 2017
Cellphone coverage is minimal — and controversial — in the Boundary Waters, where a 1-million-acre network of lakes, rivers and portage trails does in fact amount to a transportation network where canoes are as essential as cars are in the suburbs.

— dave orrick, Twin Cities, "Ely's annual April Fool's Day thing is pretty funny this year," 31 Mar. 2017
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has thin-ice warning signs at the narrows and an on-land portage for snowmobilers around the danger zone that, by chance, goes across Reichel’s property.

— john myers, Twin Cities, "One scooted a canoe on lake ice to save snowmobiler, another fired up the hot tub," 27 Feb. 2017
Seventeen miles of portage were required to travel upriver, toward Cumberland and Harpers Ferry.

— adam davidson, The New Yorker, "Draining the Swamp," 19 Jan. 2017
There was one industry that the new city would excel in, which did not require ships, portages, or much labor at all.

— adam davidson, The New Yorker, "Draining the Swamp," 19 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'portage.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Portage was borrowed from French back in the 15th century to mean "carrying, transporting" or "freight", and it has kept its simple "carrying" sense to the present day. But its first known use in its "carrying of boats" sense came in 1698, and the obstacle that the canoes couldn't be steered over was none other than Niagara Falls. Though canoes are much lighter today than they used to be, a long portage that includes a lot of camping gear can still test a camper's strength.

Origin and Etymology of portage

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from porter to carry

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

portage

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verb por·tage \ˈpȯr-tij, pȯr-ˈtäzh\

Definition of portage

portaged

;

portaging

transitive verb
: to carry over a portage
intransitive verb
: to move gear over a portage

First Known Use of portage

1836

Portage

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geographical name Por·tage \ˈpȯr-tij\

Definition of Portage

1 city on Lake Michigan in northwestern Indiana east of Gary population 36,828
2 city in southwestern Michigan south of Kalamazoo population 46,292