— boatable , adj. — boatless , adj.
/boht/ , n.
1. a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion.
2. a small ship, generally for specialized use: a fishing boat.
3. a small vessel carried for use by a large one, as a lifeboat: They lowered the boats for evacuation.
4. a ship.
5. a vessel of any size built for navigation on a river or other inland body of water.
6. a serving dish resembling a boat: a gravy boat; a celery boat.
7. Eccles. a container for holding incense before it is placed in the censer.
8. in the same boat , in the same circumstances; faced with the same problems: The new recruits were all in the same boat.
9. miss the boat , Informal.
a. to fail to take advantage of an opportunity: He missed the boat when he applied too late to get into college.
b. to miss the point of; fail to understand: I missed the boat on that explanation.
10. rock the boat . See rock 2 (def. 12).
v.i.
11. to go in a boat: We boated down the Thames.
v.t.
12. to transport in a boat: They boated us across the bay.
13. to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships. Cf. ship (def. 11).
[ bef. 900; ME boot (n.), OE bat; c. ON beit ]