airboat

noun

air·​boat ˈer-ˌbōt How to pronounce airboat (audio)
Synonyms of airboatnext
: a shallow-draft boat driven by an airplane propeller and steered by an airplane rudder

Examples of airboat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The video shows the men aboard an airboat firing at the alligator more than a dozen times. — Emily St. Martin, Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2026 In clips of the video shared online, Peters and his group appear to speed past the alligator in the airboat, then turn around to look at it. — Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 27 Mar. 2026 Follow a swamp airboat swerving along a Louisiana bayou. — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 18 May 2026 During a livestream of an airboat tour of a Florida swamp, Peters and a friend repeatedly fired handguns at an alligator. — Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 27 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for airboat

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of airboat was in 1914

Browse Nearby Words

air blue
airboat
airborne
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Airboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/airboat. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on airboat

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for airboat

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All