Thesaurus results for BOATS

boats 1 of 2

noun

Definition of boats next

plural of boat

as in vessels

a small buoyant structure for travel on water paddling the little boat across the lake is great exercise, but tiring

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as in ships

a large craft for travel by water you'll have to take a passenger boat to get to the island

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boats

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of boat

as in sails

to travel on water in a vessel boated to the picnic site on an island in the bay

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of boats

Noun

Multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats searched 1,047 square miles over 24 hours, finding debris near the location where the EPIRB was activated, along with the captain’s body and an unoccupied life raft that had been deployed. —

Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 17 May 2026 Today, only a handful still participate in the races, to the tangible pride of the locals, who pack into their own boats to cheer on friends and family. —

Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 May 2026 Fishing boats sat docked along the pier, bouncing on top of the water like a row of jolly babies. —

Literary Hub, 14 May 2026 Grab a cinnamon croissant at Birley Bakery or a lox bagel at Eli’s and eat it on a bench near the serene Conservatory Water with its model boats. —

Riza Cruz, Vogue, 14 May 2026 Most of the cocaine was seized from three vessels stopped at sea by small-vessel crews launched from the Tahoma, as well as a helicopter crew that shot out the engines of one of the smuggling boats, according to the Coast Guard. —

David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 14 May 2026 The initial versions were boats packed with explosives for suicide attacks. —

David Hambling, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026 Multiple people were thrown from boats into the water during the crash, which wasn’t otherwise detailed by authorities. —

Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 14 May 2026 There are these boats sitting in the water that are also dance clubs that the kids go crazy for. —

Bridget Knowles, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 May 2026

Verb

Shrimp boats bob in the harbor, American flags flutter from pastel porches and old oak trees draped in Spanish moss offer cool shade. —

Noreen Kompanik, Boston Herald, 19 Oct. 2025 Kennebunkport, Maine Lobster boats bob in the waves and beachcombers search for shells. —

Allison Tibaldi, USA Today, 20 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for boats

Noun

The new Sharjah-Oman overland route will mainly handle consumer goods, however, not oil and gas, which require larger vessels.

— May 19, CBS News, 19 May 2026
Saronic recently partnered with Nvidia in an extended R&D capacity to apply its AI chips and computing platform to speed up, automate and streamline the way vessels are designed and operated.

— Rebecca Fannin, CNBC, 19 May 2026