boatload

noun

boat·​load ˈbōt-ˌlōd 

1

: a load that fills a boat

a boatload of passengers

2

: an indefinitely large number or amount

a boatload of criticism

a boatload of money

Synonyms

• abundance
• barrel
• basketful
• bucket
• bunch
• bundle
• bushel
• carload
• chunk
• deal
• dozen
• fistful
• gobs
• good deal
• heap
• hundred
• lashings [chiefly British]
• lashins
• loads
• lot
• mass
• mess
• mountain
• much
• multiplicity
• myriad
• oodles
• pack
• passel
• peck
• pile
• plateful
• plenitude
• plentitude
• plenty
• pot
• potful
• profusion
• quantity
• raft
• reams
• scads
• sheaf
• shipload
• sight
• slew
• spate
• stack
• store
• ton
• truckload
• volume
• wad
• wealth
• yard

Examples of boatload in a Sentence

a boatload of publicity for the new handheld devices

Recent Examples on the Web

That is the forecast for Saturday at Sacramento City College with light breezes and a boatload of fun with VIP tents and places for children to run and play. —Joe Davidson, Sacramento Bee, 23 Jan. 2025

Final tally: five mandatory agreements, and a boatload of optional agreements. —Sheena Vasani, The Verge, 18 Jan. 2025

The mansion was built with three boatloads of Doria stone imported from Genoa and lavishly adorned with nearly 36,000 glazed Spanish tiles bought from the estate of the legendary art collector Mrs. Horace Havemeyer. —Miami Herasld Archives, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025

Photograph: Courtesy of Nvidia Nvidia already sells boatloads of computer chips to every major company building proprietary artificial intelligence models. —Will Knight, WIRED, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1625, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing boatload

• by the boatload

Kids Definition

boatload

noun

boat·​load -ˌlōd 

1

: a load that fills a boat

2

: a large amount

a boatload of money