boatlift

(-lift′)

noun

a system of transporting by means of small boats, rafts, etc., as of refugees when official air or sea routes are blocked

Origin: boat + (air)lift

See boatlift in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun
An unofficial system of transporting supplies and people, especially refugees, from one country to another by boats that are often dangerously overcrowded.

Origin:

Origin: boat

Origin: + (air)lift

.

Related Forms:

  • boatˈliftˌ verb

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