boat S1 W2 /bəʊt $ boʊt/ noun [countable]
[Language: Old English; Origin: bat]

1. a vehicle that travels across water:
a fishing boat
The boat capsized (=turned over) in heavy seas.
a boat trip around the islands
by boat
Some of the beaches can only be reached by boat.
on/in a boat
MacKay said he would sleep on his boat. ⇒ lifeboat, motorboat, powerboat, speedboat, steamboat

2. informal a ship, especially one that carries passengers:
We’re taking the night boat to St. Malo.

3. be in the same boat (as somebody) to be in the same unpleasant situation as someone else:
Everyone has lost their job. We’re all in the same boat.
⇒ gravy boat, sauce boat, ⇒ burn your bridges/boats at burn¹(18), ⇒ miss the boat at miss¹(14), ⇒ push the boat out at push¹(15), ⇒ rock the boat at rock²(3)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

boat
noun BOAT + VERB chug, go, sail The boat chugged out to sea.
head, pass The boat headed upriver.
arrive, come in, dock | return | bob boats bobbing up and down in the estuary
float, glide | drift | heave, lunge, lurch, pitch, rock, roll The boat pitched violently from side to side.
list | leak | fill The boat slowly filled with icy water.
capsize, overturn | founder, sink | operate, ply Ferry boats ply regularly between all the resorts on the lake.
carry sth, ferry sth, hold sth, take sth
BOAT + NOUN cruise, excursion, ride, trip | race | club | house (also boathouse) | train (= the train scheduled to connect with a particular sailing) the 7.30 p.m. boat train to Harwich
building | builder, crew, owner | people (= refugees who arrive by boat)
PREP. by ~ The cave can only be reached by boat.
in a/the ~ I took them in my boat.
on a/the ~ They ate on the boat.
~ from, ~ to a boat from Jamaica to Trinidad

ADJ. little, small | open He was adrift in an open boat for three days.
flat-bottomed | glass-bottomed | inflatable, plastic, rubber | wooden | motor, paddle, pedal, power, rowing, sailing, speed, steam | canal, narrow, river We spent our holiday going up a canal on a narrow boat. a Mississippi river boat
banana, cargo, charter, ferry, fishing, flying, passenger, patrol, pilot, pleasure, racing, rescue, torpedo, touring | model, paper, toy | stricken The lifeboat was preparing to go to the aid of the stricken boat.
upturned
QUANT. fleet, flotilla a flotilla of small boats
VERB + BOAT take out You couldn't take a boat out in that wild sea.
take sb out in My brother took us all out in his new boat.
get into/on/onto | get off/out of | launch, lower A new type of patrol boat was launched from the Essex coast yesterday.
push out I pushed the boat out into the middle of the river.
propel, row, sail The boat is propelled by a powerful outboard motor.
handle Where did you learn to handle a boat?
guide, steer, turn | pilot, skipper | crew Normally the boat is crewed by five people.
beach He beached the boat and the children leapt out to explore.
moor, tie up | untie | anchor, berth The harbour was crowded, with boats berthed two and three abreast.
load, unload | rock Sit down, you're rocking the boat.
(figurative) She was told to keep her mouth shut and not rock the boat (= take unnecessary action that would cause problems).
capsize, overturn, upset | swamp The boat was swamped by a huge wave.
build, design | catch, take They crossed the island to catch a boat for islands south of Skye.
miss (often figurative) If you don't buy now, you may find that you've missed the boat (= cannot take advantage of this offer because it is too late).
meet Beth had gone down to Bombay to meet the boat on which her sister was arriving.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

boat

sail a boat
They’re sailing a boat down the coast of Portugal.
row a boat
Are you any good at rowing a boat?
take a boat out
Why don’t we take the boat out on the river?
steer a boat
He steered the boat carefully to the shore.
launch a boat (=put it in the water)
Where’s the best place to launch the boat?
tie up/moor a boat (=tie it to something so that it stays in one place)
You can tie up the boat to that tree.
How much does it cost to moor a boat here?
a boat rocks (=moves from side to side in the water)
The little boat was rocking in the wind.
a boat capsizes/overturns (=turns over in the water)
Will stood up suddenly and the boat capsized.
a boat overturns (=turns over in the water)
a boat sinks
The boat sank in a storm.
a fishing boat
The fishing boats go out to sea early in the morning.
a rowing boat British English
a sailing boat British English
a canal boat (also a narrow boat British English) (=for use on canals)
We had a holiday on a canal boat in France.
a pleasure boat (=a small boat that people use on a lake, river etc)
a boat trip
You can take a boat trip to the islands nearby.
a boat race
There’s a boat race on the river tomorrow.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

boat
bəut
See: burn one's bridges also burn one's boats , in the same boat , miss the boat , rock the boat

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲