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tugboat

tugboat

19 2.6
A small strong boat that pushes or pulls large ships in harbours and rivers
  • noun
  • /ˈtʌɡboʊt/
translation icon : remolcador
  • As the large container ship approached the dock, the tugboat maneuvered skillfully to guide it safely into the harbor.

You just won your day back because that man right there that just called in, OK, that man was operating a tugboat out in a doodoo river.

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Examples

  • I look down on tugboats struggling to push great strings of nameless barges against the river's current.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • One lone tugboat in the harbor towing a freighter.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Number Three Girl, get out to see if you can catch the name of the lead tugboat.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I mean, a tugboat is small, but it's mighty.

  • So go ahead, pull this big tugboat to shore.

  • "This is civilian tugboat 'Arctic Warrior'."

  • On a tugboat in violent Gulf waters away from New Orleans.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The receivers were a small barge propelled by a small tugboat.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • His deception loomed like the buildings as the tugboats nudged the ship closer to the dock.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Ferryboats, barges, and garbage scows sliced through the water as muscled tugboats approached to guide the troopship toward her berth in the East River.

    Fiction book (1992)

Synonyms

tug
vstugboat
19 2.7

A small strong boat that tows or pushes larger ships

is the fuller or formal name used in official contexts
towboat
vstugboat
  • US
1 4.6

A small strong boat that pulls or pushes larger boats on rivers and canals

is used for moving larger vessels in harbours as well as rivers

How Powerful

tugboat
19 2.6
launch
36 6.0
motorboat
12 2.7
dinghy
18 4.8

Surface Forms

tugboat singular
tugboats plural

Morphology

tugboat = tug + boat (transparent) = tug + boat

Direct compound of 'tug' + 'boat' meaning a boat used for tugging (pulling or pushing) larger vessels; the composition is literal and predictable.

Etymology

The word tugboat comes from the simple parts tug and boat. A tug means 'to pull', as in the game tug-of-war, so a tugboat is a small, strong boat used to pull or push larger ships.