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🛶 A flat boat 🛶 To travel by boat
airboat

airboat

4 4.6
A flat-bottomed boat with a big fan that moves over shallow water and marshes
  • noun
  • /ˈɛrˌboʊt/
translation icon : hidroavión
  • We're going on an airboat through the swamps with alligators and maybe some pythons here in the Everglades.
  • airboat ride
  • airboat tour
  • Everglades airboat

So I present to you the keys to our brand new airboat.

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Examples

  • The airboat glided smoothly over the shallow waters, allowing us to explore the unique ecosystem of the wetlands.

  • After the airboat ride, it was gator time.

    Blog text (13)

  • You guys are the ones who hired my family for the airboat ride, right?

    Deadly Weekend (2013)

  • We took an airboat tour for about an hour; the wildlife was incredible.

    Blog text (13)

  • If you want to take an airboat ride, go to www.everglades.com.

    Blog text (8)

  • Never sure what wildlife you will see, but the airboat ride is fun, and afterwards you can pet a baby alligator.

    Blog text (8)

  • Mark Maffei steered the airboat into a thick stand of 12-foot-tall cattails within Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Florida Everglades.

    Academic text (1994)

  • We took an exciting ride on an airboat through the marshes, where we spotted alligators and various birds.

  • During our vacation, we enjoyed an airboat tour that showcased the beauty of the Everglades and its wildlife.

Synonyms

vessel
vsairboat
698 3.3

A large boat or ship used for travel on water

is a small flat-bottom type for marshy waters using an aircraft propeller
small boat
vsairboat
13 1.0

A boat that is small and used for short trips on lakes or rivers

is specialised for very shallow marshy travel with an aircraft propeller
motorboat
vsairboat
12 2.7

A small boat with a motor used for moving on lakes and rivers

moves by an above-water aircraft-style propeller rather than submerged engine thrust
watercraft
vsairboat
4 3.9

A boat or ship that carries people and things on water

is a specific shallow-water type propelled by an above-water aircraft propeller
johnboat
vsairboat
  • US
1 7.6

A small flat-bottom boat that people use in shallow water for fishing

uses an aircraft-style propeller to move over marshy shallow waters
flat-bottom
vsairboat
4.1

A boat with a level hull for shallow, calm water

adds an aircraft propeller and is built to travel over marshy surfaces

Surface Forms

airboat singular
airboats plural

Morphology

airboat = air + boat (transparent) = air + boat

A straightforward compound: 'air' + 'boat' yields a boat propelled by an aircraft-style propeller, which learners can infer.

Etymology

The word airboat combines air ('moving air' or 'wind') and boat ('small water craft'). It names a flat, shallow boat with an airplane-style propeller that is pushed by air, which is why it can glide over marshes and very shallow water.