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Glite Dictionary
boatwright

boatwright

1 8.5
A person who builds or fixes boats, often wooden ones
  • noun
  • /ˈboʊtˌraɪt/
translation icon : carpintero de barcos
  • "What sank your dinghy?" asks chief boatwright Zeke, his elevated status allowing him first query.

Examples

  • Three boatwrights standing silently at water's edge, their wives inside the birthing house, self claps.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Listen, Boatwright, you gotta give this guy at least a casual card.

    Which Way Is Up? (1977)

  • A boatwright has built a small coffin.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Three boatwrights return attention to their work, but Rasmus still drools for wicked talk.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I am grateful to Morris Adelman, John Boatwright, Henry Lee, the editor, and three anonymous referees for comments; to the U.S. Department of Energy for financial support; and to Gordon Phillips and David Quinlivan for excellent research assistance.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Not just a lady's nurse, Nuala was a blacksmith, boatwright, and harper - who shoed her own horses, built her own boats, and composed her own verse.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Steward, O'Leary, Boatwright, and Sauer (1996) found no racial or ethnic differences for sources of support, type of support requested, or the quality of support among White American, African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American students who attended predominantly White universities.

    Academic text (2004)

  • Zeke has worked as a boatwright for over twenty years, crafting beautiful wooden vessels by hand.

  • After the storm damaged the fishing boats, the local boatwright was able to repair them quickly.

  • My grandfather was a skilled boatwright, known for his ability to create sturdy boats that could withstand the sea.

Synonyms

shipbuilder
vsboatwright
4 3.7

A person or company that builds and repairs ships

refers to an individual who builds or repairs smaller boats
shipwright
vsboatwright
  • Specialized
2 8.6

A person who builds and repairs ships, often wooden ones

focuses on smaller craft rather than large seagoing vessels
boatbuilder
vsboatwright
1 3.8

A person who makes boats for a living

includes both building and repairing boats as part of the job
ship builder
vsboatwright
3.2

A person who builds ships, often using wood

includes repair work and applies to smaller non launching craft

Surface Forms

boatwright singular
boatwrights plural

Morphology

boatwright = boat + wright (semi-transparent) = boat + wright

The meaning 'maker of boats' follows directly from the parts, but 'wright' is an archaic/specialized morpheme that may be unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

Boatwright comes from the simple parts boat and wright, where wright means 'maker' or 'worker' and appears in words like wheelwright and playwright. So a boatwright is a person who makes or repairs boats.