cattle boat
1
6.7
- noun
- /ˈkætəl boʊt/
- The Stephen R. Mallory was on its maiden voyage as a cattle boat, and after two days at sea, it developed engine trouble.
Examples
-
This was off Morro Castle, the cattle boat streaming black smoke as it came through the narrows.
Fiction book (2002) -
The newly designed cattle boat can carry hundreds of animals across the ocean safely.
-
A cattle boat to New York, you say?
Fiction book (1991) -
The construction of hundreds of stalls in the holds and on the top deck had converted the ship into a cattle boat.
Academic text (1999) -
It was late the next day when Tyler watched his mares brought aboard the cattle boat, the name Vamoose barely readable on its rusted hull.
Fiction book (2002) -
During the summer, many farmers use a cattle boat to transport livestock to markets.
-
The old cattle boat had spacious quarters to ensure the comfort of the animals during their journey.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A large boat that carries people or goods across the sea
370
3.3
A large boat or ship used for travel on water
31
3.0
A large ship that carries goods between ports
5
3.4
A ship that carries goods, often in containers
1
4.8
A large ship that carries goods on regular routes at set times
A ship that carries cows and other farm animals
Surface Forms
Morphology
cattle + boat
The meaning is directly and compositionally derived from 'cattle' (livestock) + 'boat' (a vessel), so a learner who knows both words will readily infer it denotes a boat used to carry cattle. This follows a common English noun-compounding pattern and has straightforward cross-linguistic parallels, making it immediately comprehensible at B1.
Etymology
Cattle boat comes from a simple image: a boat carrying many cattle on a sea trip. These ships had pens and ways to care for the animals, so the name now means 'a cargo ship for carrying livestock'.