as in motorboats
a boat equipped with a motor
speedboats leaving wakes that cause damage to docked vessels and the shoreline
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Recent Examples of speedboats
In a series of sharp engagements in the 1980s, American naval and Special Operations forces sank Iranian ships and speedboats and destroyed Iranian bases being used to attack tankers.
—
Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
For one, there is no value to Iran in intercepting cargo containers, though non-oil ships may be harassed by Iranian speedboats.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026
View gallery - 6 images The Bertone Runabout has familiar performance credentials, features, and price tag – but its unique lines were penned after extensive study of the hull shapes of modern speedboats.
—New Atlas, 28 Jan. 2026
But most experts on criminal cartels and deadly street drugs say military strikes on speedboats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific will also have little or no impact on overdose deaths in the United States.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 15 Dec. 2025
Strikes on speedboats allegedly running drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific — which have killed more than 80 people since early September — hardly require such firepower.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 2 Dec. 2025
Each January, when the quota resets, hunters hitch speedboats to their snowmobiles and drive to the ice edge near Cape Tobin.
—Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
According to prosecutors, Gogic and his co-conspirators worked with the ships' crew members to smuggle cocaine in shipping containers, hoisting loads of the drug from speedboats that approached the cargo vessels along their route, including near ports in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
—CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
Select runabouts and speedboats, between 24 and 42 feet, have emerged as boating’s latest crown jewels.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 26 Oct. 2025
Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2026
For one, there is no value to Iran in intercepting cargo containers, though non-oil ships may be harassed by Iranian speedboats.
—Kevin Williams, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2026
View gallery - 6 images The Bertone Runabout has familiar performance credentials, features, and price tag – but its unique lines were penned after extensive study of the hull shapes of modern speedboats.
—New Atlas, 28 Jan. 2026
But most experts on criminal cartels and deadly street drugs say military strikes on speedboats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific will also have little or no impact on overdose deaths in the United States.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 15 Dec. 2025
Strikes on speedboats allegedly running drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific — which have killed more than 80 people since early September — hardly require such firepower.
—Bloomberg Opinion, Twin Cities, 2 Dec. 2025
Each January, when the quota resets, hunters hitch speedboats to their snowmobiles and drive to the ice edge near Cape Tobin.
—Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
According to prosecutors, Gogic and his co-conspirators worked with the ships' crew members to smuggle cocaine in shipping containers, hoisting loads of the drug from speedboats that approached the cargo vessels along their route, including near ports in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
—CBS News, 17 Nov. 2025
Select runabouts and speedboats, between 24 and 42 feet, have emerged as boating’s latest crown jewels.
—Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 26 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for speedboats
motorboats
Noun
-
At Lake Natoma, home to the Sacramento State Aquatic Center, motorboats are more restricted, so sports like rowing, kayaking, sailing and windsurfing proliferate.—
Kate Bradshaw,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The real threat to Americans is our headlong rush toward normalizing blatant murder, whether that be of nameless occupants of motorboats in the Caribbean, schoolgirls in Iran or United States citizens in the streets of Minneapolis.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Speedboats.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/speedboats. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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