airboat

American

[air-boht] / ˈɛərˌboʊt /

noun

Also called swamp boat. a small open boat having a very shallow draft and driven by a caged airplane propeller mounted above the rear transom, capable of traveling at relatively high speeds through shallow water, swamps, etc.

verb (used without object)

to go or travel in an airboat.

airboat British

/ ˈɛəˌbəʊt /

noun

another name for swamp boat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of airboat

1865–70, for an earlier sense; air(craft) + boat

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Everglades Airboat Ride – The Everglades are just 45 minutes from Miami Beach and absolutely worth the trip.

From Salon

On a previous visit, we booked seats on a public airboat and had a blast—but saw zero alligators, much to our disappointment.

From Salon

This time, we went with a private airboat through Viator, and wow—the experience was incredible.

From Salon

In the 2010s, when Keith was at Harvard University, he and a colleague, climate scientist Frank Keutsch, proposed lofting high-altitude balloons fitted with airboat propellers that would release between 100 grams to a couple kilos’ worth of mineral dust, like calcium carbonate or sulfuric acid.

From Salon

Below an airboat transports residents rescued from flood waters due to storm surge in Crystal River.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023