: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing
called also towboat
Examples of tugboat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The dock will be used by a small tugboat and a barge with equipment to vacuum sand and pump it through a pipe in a watery slurry onto the shoreline from Pine Avenue to just north of Cannon Road.
—
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Francis then defrauded the U.S. government of at least $35 million by charging heavily inflated prices for routine services such as security, tugboats, trash removal, food and water replenishment.
—Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
After nearly a decade away from the game, Amesbury carved out a unique path: working on tugboats, competing in professional lacrosse and even battling in Ice Wars, a hockey fighting competition.
—Ben Delaforest, Kansas City Star, 7 Feb. 2025
The vessel is expected to depart town Monday for the first time since the collapse, accompanied by three McAllister Towing tugboats, one Moran Towing tugboat, a Coast Guard vessel and a work boat from the Resolve Marine salvage company.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 23 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for tugboat
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.
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Francis then defrauded the U.S. government of at least $35 million by charging heavily inflated prices for routine services such as security, tugboats, trash removal, food and water replenishment.
—Alex Riggins, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2025
After nearly a decade away from the game, Amesbury carved out a unique path: working on tugboats, competing in professional lacrosse and even battling in Ice Wars, a hockey fighting competition.
—Ben Delaforest, Kansas City Star, 7 Feb. 2025
The vessel is expected to depart town Monday for the first time since the collapse, accompanied by three McAllister Towing tugboats, one Moran Towing tugboat, a Coast Guard vessel and a work boat from the Resolve Marine salvage company.
—Boston Herald Wire Services, Boston Herald, 23 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for tugboat
Cite this Entry
“Tugboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tugboat. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tugboat
noun
tug·boat
ˈtəg-ˌbōt 
: a strongly built powerful boat used for towing and pushing ships
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share