packet boat

noun

variants or less commonly packet ship

1

: a boat (as originally a fast sailing ship) chartered by a government to carry mail and dispatches

letters … conveyed by government packet boats or by ordinary sailing ship

—Samuel Graveson

2

a

: a river or coastal steamer usually of shallow draft carrying mail, passengers, and cargo on a regular run

took passage for Boston on the midweek packet boat

—Kenneth Roberts

b

: a canalboat designed to carry passengers

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