: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing
called also towboat
Examples of tugboat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That response included more than 2,000 people and subject matter experts, nearly two dozen tugboats, 13 floating cranes and 10 excavators, among other equipment.
—
Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN, 10 June 2024
The tugboat in Texas was pushing bunker barges, which are fuel barges for ships, Flores said.
—Juan Lozano, Fortune, 16 May 2024
We were being ferried aboard the six-cabin MV Swell, a converted 88-foot wood tugboat built in 1912.
—Crai S. Bower, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2023
At high tide around 0700 EST (1200 BST), five tugboats and several other vessels began moving the newly re-floated Dali 2.5 miles (4km) to a nearby marine terminal.
—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tugboat 
Lauren Mascarenhas, CNN, 10 June 2024
The tugboat in Texas was pushing bunker barges, which are fuel barges for ships, Flores said.
—Juan Lozano, Fortune, 16 May 2024
We were being ferried aboard the six-cabin MV Swell, a converted 88-foot wood tugboat built in 1912.
—Crai S. Bower, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2023
At high tide around 0700 EST (1200 BST), five tugboats and several other vessels began moving the newly re-floated Dali 2.5 miles (4km) to a nearby marine terminal.
—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 21 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for tugboat
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tugboat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tugboat
Cite this Entry
“Tugboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tugboat. Accessed 21 Jun. 2024.
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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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