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boat (bōt)
Share:
n.
1.
a. A relatively small, usually open craft of a size that might be carried aboard a ship.
b. An inland vessel of any size.
c. A ship or submarine.
2. A dish shaped like a boat: a sauce boat.
v. boat·ed, boat·ing, boats
v.intr.
1. To travel by boat.
2. To ride a boat for pleasure.
v.tr.
1. To transport by boat.
2. To place in a boat.
Idiom:
in the same boat
In the same situation as another or others.
[Middle English bot, from Old English bāt; see bheid- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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