workboat

noun

work·​boat ˈwərk-ˌbōt How to pronounce workboat (audio)
: a boat used for work purposes (such as commercial fishing and ferrying supplies) rather than for sport or for passenger or naval service

Examples of workboat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
With little overt military value, Australia’s cheap-but-robust commercial workboats are subject to fierce debate. Craig Hooper, Forbes, 3 May 2023 In the Black Sea, trading an old workboat or other hulk for even a mere mission-kill on a Russian combatant is eminently worthwhile. Craig Hooper, Forbes, 8 June 2022 At the same time, the firm is testing a new, 29-foot-long workboat for the US Coast Guard that can be operated by remote control from shore or switched to a fully autonomous mode. Eric Niiler, Wired, 30 Oct. 2020 At 32 feet, his Alona Rahab was among the smallest workboats in the Tangier fleet and could almost fit inside the Henrietta C. Earl Swift, Outside Online, 20 June 2018 Forty-odd islanders on 15 workboats spent days dragging the bottom but pulled up only algae and sea grapes. Earl Swift, Outside Online, 20 June 2018 Feuchter had sailed around the bay painting Chesapeake workboats, pungie. Frederick N. Rasmussen, baltimoresun.com, 14 Apr. 2018 Giant workboats — the equivalent of floating dump trucks — carry loads of mud, fuel, water, food and other supplies the crews require. Eric Lipton, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2018 The wooden boats competed in skiff, workboat, lugger, trawler, runabout, sailboat and cruiser classes. Ann Benoit, NOLA.com, 27 Oct. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of workboat was in 1869

Dictionary Entries Near workboat

Cite this Entry

“Workboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/workboat. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on workboat

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!