boat

boat — noun

1. a fairly small craft used on rivers, lakes, or near the coast, not a large ship

1.nounA1
Definition

a fairly small craft used on rivers, lakes, or near the coast, not a large ship

Example

Ravi tied the boat to a post beside the wooden bridge.

tie the boat to + place

A small boat carried vegetables across the river before sunrise.

Common collocations
  • fishing boat
  • rowing boat
  • small boat
  • boat ride
  • boat trip
Synonyms
  • vessel

    more formal and technical; it can be much larger than a boat

  • canoe

    a narrow light boat moved with a paddle

  • dinghy

    a very small open boat, often carried by a larger one

Grammar Patterns

go by boat

rent a boat

boat on the lake

Usage Note

Often modified by words naming size or purpose, such as small, fishing, rescue, or rowing. Distinguish from sense 2, which can refer to a much larger ship.

Common Mistakes

We sat on the shore and watched many boat.
We sat on the shore and watched many boats.
after 'many', this countable noun needs a plural form.
We went to the island with a boat.
We went to the island by boat.
for the method of travel, English usually uses 'by boat'.

2. a large ship, especially in the everyday speech of sailors or passengers on it

2.nounB2
Definition

a large ship, especially in the everyday speech of sailors or passengers on it

Example

Our boat carries four hundred passengers between the two islands each day.

boat = passenger ship

After ten weeks at sea, everyone on the boat wanted fresh fruit.

Common collocations
  • passenger boat
  • cargo boat
  • save the boat
  • leave the boat
  • on the boat
Synonyms
  • ship

    the plain and more exact word for a large sea-going vessel

  • vessel

    formal and technical, common in official or maritime writing

  • ferry

    a ship that carries people or vehicles on a regular route

Grammar Patterns

the boat docked

on the boat

leave the boat

Usage Note

Often used by sailors, passengers, or news reports for a vessel large enough to have a crew, decks, or cabins. Distinguish from sense 1, which usually suggests a smaller craft on rivers or lakes.

Common Mistakes

The boat has 500 passengers, so it cannot be called a boat.
The boat has 500 passengers.
in this sense, 'boat' can still mean a large ship.
The captain returned to his ship, not his boat.
The captain returned to his boat.
sailors often call their own ship a boat.
Idioms

be in the same boat

idiom

To be facing the same difficult situation as someone else.

Min and I are in the same boat with our failing grades.

Are we in the same boat regarding the budget cuts?

burn your boats

idiom

To do something that makes it impossible to go back to an earlier situation.

By quitting his job angrily, Diego burned his boats.

She burned her boats when she insulted the boss publicly.

float somebody’s boat

idiom

To be something that someone really likes or enjoys.

Classical music doesn't really float my boat.

What kind of movies float your boat?

miss the boat

idiom

To fail to take advantage of an opportunity because you act too late.

Sara missed the boat on buying that cheap house.

If we don't invest now, we'll miss the boat.

push the boat out

idiom

To spend a lot of money on a celebration or enjoyable event.

For her birthday, Aiden really pushed the boat out.

They pushed the boat out for their wedding reception.

rock the boat

idiom

To do something that upsets a stable situation and causes trouble.

Maya didn't want to rock the boat by complaining.

Why do you always have to rock the boat at meetings?

boat — verb

Word family

  • boating
    nounB1
  • boater
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, boat is the normal everyday word for a fairly small craft on water. Ship usually suggests something much larger, especially one that crosses the sea and has a big crew. Vessel is more formal and technical, so you often see it in safety rules, news reports, or legal writing. Canoe names one narrow kind of small boat that people move with paddles. Ferry is not about size first; it means a boat or ship that carries passengers or cars on a regular route. You can rent a boat at the lake, board a ferry to the island, or read that a rescue vessel reached the harbor before dawn.

ship ↗vessel ↗canoe ↗ferry ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • go by boat
  • travel by boat

Prepositions

  • by boat
  • in a boat
  • on a boat

Etymology

Proto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

Boat comes from Old English bat, from an earlier Germanic word for a watercraft. It is related to Dutch boot and German Boot. The word has kept its basic meaning for centuries: something used to travel on water. In some situations, especially among sailors, it later came to be used more loosely for a larger ship as well.