Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
narrow boat

narrow boat

6.0
A long, thin boat used on canals to carry goods
  • noun
  • /ˈnærəʊ bəʊt/
  • UK
translation icon : barco estrecho
  • They spent the weekend cruising on their narrow boat, enjoying the picturesque scenery.

Examples

  • Kate could move onto the narrow boat and they could do a straight swap.

    The Wide West (2025)

  • How can people who live aboard A narrow boat and continuously cruise with no car or access to a COVID test get a test?

  • "To help you," I replied, clambering wetly aboard the narrow boat.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The narrow boat glided smoothly through the tranquil waters of the canal.

  • We rented a narrow boat to explore the beautiful waterways in the countryside.

Synonyms

keelboat
vsnarrow boat
  • Archaic
1 9.6

A long narrow river boat moved by rowing or towing to carry goods

is made for canals and for passing through very narrow locks
canal boat
vsnarrow boat
1 3.2

A long narrow boat that carries people or goods on canals

is specifically designed to fit very narrow locks rather than general canal use
narrowboat
vsnarrow boat
  • UK
6.8

A long, thin boat that travels on canals and carries people or goods

has identical meaning but written as two words and stresses narrow locks

Surface Forms

narrow boat singular
narrow boats plural

Morphology

narrow + boat

The meaning is directly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'narrow' (not wide) and 'boat' will infer it denotes a boat that is narrow. Although English also uses the lexicalized form 'narrowboat' for a specific long canal craft, the basic sense ('a narrow boat') is transparent and easily understood without specialist cultural knowledge.

Etymology

Narrow boat is the name for the long, thin boats made to travel on tight 'canals' and to fit through small 'locks'. The word narrow shows the thin shape and boat is the word for the water vehicle, so the phrase simply means that kind of boat used to carry goods or to live on the water.