whaleboat
noun
whale·boat
ˈ(h)wāl-ˌbōt 
1
2
: a long narrow rowboat or motorboat resembling the original whaleboats and often carried by warships and merchant ships
Examples of whaleboat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One day later, another incident occurred in the evening involving a whaleboat that caught fire and capsized near the province’s Lukolela territory, AP, Al Jazeera and Sky News said, citing Congo’s humanitarian affairs ministry.
—
Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
And since each ship carried three to five whaleboats, the amount of rope needed just to conduct whaling operations on one whaleship was as much as ten thousand feet.
—Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
In Robert Brill’s set, the stage is shaped like a half-pipe with rungs, so that cast members scramble, pitch, tumble, and row flimsy whaleboats over massive waves.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
On July 20, 1775, Major Joseph Vose and sixty Continental soldiers landed on Little Brewster in nimble whaleboats.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
When a prime specimen was chosen, the men set off in a whaleboat rowed by a crew.
—Nancy Lord, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Nov. 2022
Setauket whaleboat captain Caleb Brewster, meanwhile, carried messages across Long Island Sound, between Setauket and Connecticut.
—Bill Bleyer, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2022
Mitch Brown, 27, and his girlfriend Yanna Xian, 24, were swimming on a whaleboat tour when a baby humpback approached them.
—People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 10 Jan. 2022
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Kimberlee Speakman, PEOPLE, 13 Sep. 2025
And since each ship carried three to five whaleboats, the amount of rope needed just to conduct whaling operations on one whaleship was as much as ten thousand feet.
—Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
In Robert Brill’s set, the stage is shaped like a half-pipe with rungs, so that cast members scramble, pitch, tumble, and row flimsy whaleboats over massive waves.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025
On July 20, 1775, Major Joseph Vose and sixty Continental soldiers landed on Little Brewster in nimble whaleboats.
—Dorothy Wickenden, The New Yorker, 30 Oct. 2023
When a prime specimen was chosen, the men set off in a whaleboat rowed by a crew.
—Nancy Lord, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Nov. 2022
Setauket whaleboat captain Caleb Brewster, meanwhile, carried messages across Long Island Sound, between Setauket and Connecticut.
—Bill Bleyer, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2022
Mitch Brown, 27, and his girlfriend Yanna Xian, 24, were swimming on a whaleboat tour when a baby humpback approached them.
—People Staff, PEOPLE.com, 10 Jan. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Whaleboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whaleboat. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
whaleboat
noun
whale·boat
ˈhwā(ə)l-ˌbōt
ˈwā(ə)l-
: a long narrow rowboat formerly used by whalers for hunting whales
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