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shallow-draft

shallow-draft

1 7.8
A boat with a bottom that does not go deep so it can move in shallow water
  • adjective
  • /ˈʃæloʊ dræft/
  • Specialized
translation icon : de poco calado
  • The shallow-draft design of the vessel allows it to access areas with low water levels.
  • shallow-draft boat
  • shallow-draft hull
  • shallow-draft vessel

Examples

  • With its shallow draft, the keelboat did well on such a river as the Missouri.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • There was a small boat docked there, whose relatively shallow draft was well suited to inhospitable ports.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We need something with a shallow draught.

  • And her shallow draft allowed her to slip over huge waves like a shingle.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Were galleys, meaning that they were narrow, shallow draft ships powered primarily by ore and backed by sails.

  • The river looked inviting, but Shong explained that it was too swift and shallow for convenient navigation in their intended direction, although it was marginally navigable when traveling downstream, either on rafts or in boats of very shallow draft.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Around the turn of the century, Japanese immigrants began introducing small (ca. 6 m) shallow-draft wooden sampans with built-in bait wells, followed by motor-powered vessels starting in 1907.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Only shallow-draft boats can navigate safely in the shallow waters of the bay.

  • With its shallow-draft hull, the boat glides effortlessly through narrow streams.

How Shallow

shallow-draft
  • Specialized
1 7.8

Surface Forms

shallow-draft positive

Morphology

shallow-draft = shallow + draft (semi-transparent) = shallow + draft

The meaning is directly compositional ('shallow' + 'draft'), but 'draft' in the nautical sense is a specialized term that may not be known to all learners.

Etymology

Shallow-draft puts together shallow ('not deep') and draft, which is like draw and means how much water a boat 'draws' or needs under it. So a shallow-draft boat sits only a little below the waterline and can go into shallow places.