Boat Definition

bōt
boated, boating, boats
noun
boats
A small, open water vehicle propelled by oars, sails, engine, etc.
Webster's New World
A large such vehicle for use in inland waters.
An ore boat on the Great Lakes.
Webster's New World
Any large, seagoing water vehicle; ship: a term in popular use, but not by sailors.
Webster's New World
A ship or submarine.
American Heritage
A boat-shaped dish.
A gravy boat.
Webster's New World
verb
boated, boating, boats
To go in a boat; row, sail, or cruise.
Webster's New World
To pull or lift into a boat.
To boat a fish.
Webster's New World
To lay or carry in the boat.
To boat the oars.
Webster's New World
To transport by boat.
American Heritage
idiom
in the same boat
  • In the same situation as another or others.
American Heritage
in the same boat
  • in the same unfavorable situation
Webster's New World
miss the boat
  • to fail to make the most of an opportunity
Webster's New World
rock the boat
  • to disturb or challenge the status quo
Webster's New World

Other Word Forms of Boat

Noun

Singular:
boat
Plural:
boats

Idioms, Phrasal Verbs Related to Boat

Origin of Boat

  • From Middle English boot, bot, boet, boyt (“boat”), from Old English bāt (“boat”), from Proto-Germanic *baitaz, *baitą (“boat, small ship”), from Proto-Indo-European *bheid- (“to break, split”). Cognate with Old Norse beit (“boat”).

    From Wiktionary

  • Old Norse bātr (whence Icelandic bátur, Norwegian båt), Dutch boot, German Boot, Occitan batèl and French bateau are all ultimately borrowings from the Old English word.

    From Wiktionary

  • Middle English bot from Old English bāt bheid- in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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