small boat
- noun
- The fishermen returned to shore in their small boat after a long day at sea.
- use small boat
So, you know, I, I grew up sailing small boats, so like dinghies.
- So, you know, I, I grew up sailing small boats, so like dinghies.
- This is a little convoy of three, you know, pretty small boats.
- Scout swimmer is basically an individual who launches either from a small boat.
- They could see the small boats that they rowed ashore in, but they could not see the main ship.
- That spectacle of the small boat arrivals, great peril to themselves, nobody to check on who they are.
Examples
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Twelve small boats row toward the shore, carrying the General and his men.
Fiction book (2001) -
As the herring move in to spawn, small boats retrieve the gill nets, catching the fish.
Academic text (2003) -
Fifteen of us on a very small boat.
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There are 15 or 20 small boats down there.
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In the distance, the small boat skims across the surface.
Fiction book (1992) -
It is a small boat, 28 feet long.
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The navy thinks they were all at sea in their small boat when the typhoon hit.
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The rocking of the small boat and the smell of fish had made her nauseous.
Fiction book (1999) -
A great many people in Ekeyville owned their own small boat, a skiff or johnboat.
Blog text (25) -
He positioned his small boat in the north Atlantic between a Norwegian whaling ship and a pod of humpback whales.
Synonyms
A small vehicle used on water to carry people, like a rowboat or motorboat
A narrow light boat with pointed ends that you move with a paddle
A small car or boat used for short trips
A small boat that moves by wind using sails
A small fast boat with a motor used for racing or quick trips
A small open boat moved with oars on lakes and rivers
A small open boat that people use for short trips, often to reach a larger boat
A small fast boat often with sails, used to carry people or messages
A small light boat for one person that you move with oars or a motor
A small boat with a motor used for moving on lakes and rivers
A small sailing boat with one mast
A small boat moved with oars for sport or fun
A small boat that uses sails to move and usually has one mast
A small flat-bottom boat that people use in shallow water for fishing
A long narrow rowing boat used for racing or short trips
A small boat you move by pedalling on calm water
A small boat used to carry people or supplies between a ship and shore
A small boat used for fun activities like racing or water skiing
A small boat that sells food and goods to ships at sea
A small boat that a ship carries to move people between ship and shore
A small boat that a sailing ship keeps for the crew to move people or supplies
A small wooden boat for rowing or fishing
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a boat that is small in size' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'small' (limited in size) with 'boat' (watercraft). This simple adjective+noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The phrase small boat comes from the simple picture of a small boat you can row or carry for short trips near the shore. So it now means 'a boat that is small' often used for 'short trips' or to work close to land.