: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing
called also towboat
Examples of tugboat in a Sentence
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The dock will be used by a small tugboat and a barge with equipment to vacuum sand and pump it through a pipe in a watery slurry onto the shoreline from Pine Avenue to just north of Cannon Road.
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Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Francis then defrauded the U.S. government of at least $35 million by charging heavily inflated prices for routine services such as security, tugboats, trash removal, food and water replenishment.
—Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
After nearly a decade away from the game, Amesbury carved out a unique path: working on tugboats, competing in professional lacrosse and even battling in Ice Wars, a hockey fighting competition.
—Ben Delaforest, Kansas City Star, 7 Feb. 2025
The vessel is expected to depart town Monday for the first time since the collapse, accompanied by three McAllister Towing tugboats, one Moran Towing tugboat, a Coast Guard vessel and a work boat from the Resolve Marine salvage company.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 23 June 2024
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Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Francis then defrauded the U.S. government of at least $35 million by charging heavily inflated prices for routine services such as security, tugboats, trash removal, food and water replenishment.
—Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
After nearly a decade away from the game, Amesbury carved out a unique path: working on tugboats, competing in professional lacrosse and even battling in Ice Wars, a hockey fighting competition.
—Ben Delaforest, Kansas City Star, 7 Feb. 2025
The vessel is expected to depart town Monday for the first time since the collapse, accompanied by three McAllister Towing tugboats, one Moran Towing tugboat, a Coast Guard vessel and a work boat from the Resolve Marine salvage company.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 23 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for tugboat
Cite this Entry
“Tugboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tugboat. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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tugboat
noun
tug·boat
ˈtəg-ˌbōt 
: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing ships
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