: 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 plan for the historic ship is for it to be towed by tugboats to Mobile, Alabama where it will be broken down to serve as an artificial reef.
—
Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 14 Nov. 2024
The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) announced the discovery of the John Evenson, a tugboat built in 1884, in a Facebook post on Sept. 20.
—Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 2 Oct. 2024
David Zetland, an assistant professor at the University of Leiden who researches the political economy of water, recounts the story of an American entrepreneur who planned to fill a giant plastic bag with glacier water and use a tugboat to pull it from Alaska to California.
—Ole Ellekrog, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
Ontario’s domestic production sector, long the tugboat of the provincial industry, has faced falling license fees from local broadcasters, and so is casting its net wider these days for international co-production partners and private investors.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 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.
Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 14 Nov. 2024
The Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS) announced the discovery of the John Evenson, a tugboat built in 1884, in a Facebook post on Sept. 20.
—Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 2 Oct. 2024
David Zetland, an assistant professor at the University of Leiden who researches the political economy of water, recounts the story of an American entrepreneur who planned to fill a giant plastic bag with glacier water and use a tugboat to pull it from Alaska to California.
—Ole Ellekrog, WIRED, 19 Sep. 2024
Ontario’s domestic production sector, long the tugboat of the provincial industry, has faced falling license fees from local broadcasters, and so is casting its net wider these days for international co-production partners and private investors.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tugboat
Dictionary Entries Near tugboat
Cite this Entry
“Tugboat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tugboat. Accessed 22 Jan. 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