towboat

noun

Definition of towboatnext
as in tugboat

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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 towboat Witnesses watch as barge hits sailboat of campers The operator likely couldn’t hear from inside the pilot house atop the towboat, the captain said. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 3 Aug. 2025 The Wake Pro 230 was designed around being a towboat, for water-skiing, wakeboarding, or wake-surfing. — Michael Verdon, Robb Report, 11 July 2025 In 2002, a freight barge struck a pier of Oklahoma’s Interstate 40 bridge after the towboat’s captain lost consciousness, collapsing a section of the bridge and killing 14. — Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 24 Mar. 2025 According to her Forbes profile, Ingram Marine operates 5,000 barges and approximately 150 towboats on America's inland waterways. — Diana Leyva, The Tennessean, 11 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for towboat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for towboat
  1. tugboat
  2. barge
  3. tug
  4. keel
  5. keelboat
  6. ferryboat
Noun
  • On Thursday, Iranian media reported that five oil tankers and a tugboat caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz in similar incidents.
    — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The latter traversed the Panama Canal on a tugboat named the Shannon Dann, which rescued four fishermen off the coast of Baja California, tangerine behemoth and all.
    — Laura Zornosa, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of tugboat
Noun
  • Kemetale This boutique operator, which launched in 2022 with the Kemet Dahabeya, has small-scale ships that take their cues from the traditional dahabeah, a kind of sailing barge.
    — Susan B. Barnes, Travel + Leisure, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Men stand on the side of a barge in New York Harbor holding a rope attached to a wooden crate from which Harry Houdini was trying to escape July 7, 1912.
    — Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of barge
Noun
  • Saucy and sticky, the tender ribs tug impeccably off the bone.
    — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The sci-fi horror film follows the seven-member crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo who, upon returning to Earth, intercept a strange transmission from a nearby moon.
    — Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of tug
Noun
  • Butler also walked us through how to break down the bird ourselves—find the breastbone with your thumb, run the knife along the keel, and the breast comes away in one clean piece the color of a dark plum.
    — Heide Brandes, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Its keel was laid on July 26, 2013, and it was launched on December 25, 2019.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of keel
Noun
  • This sailing school follows both Sail Canada's and keelboat certification programs as well.
    — Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • However, apart from his time competing on high-speed M32 catamarans, Canfield’s experience and success have come through racing traditional keelboats.
    — Andrew Rice, The Athletic, 13 Mar. 2025
Definition of keelboat
Noun
  • But nearly a decade since the first city-run ferryboat set sail, the system has been working to win over skeptics.
    — Julia Press, Bloomberg, 22 May 2026
  • Crofton will be the only living person with a Disney ferryboat named after her.
    — Dewayne Bevil, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 May 2026
Definition of ferryboat

Browse Nearby Words

toward
towboat
towboats
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Cite this Entry

“Towboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/towboat. Accessed 9 Nov. 2026.

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