: a flat-bottomed skiff used in eastern Asia and usually propelled by two short oars
Examples of sampan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Hong Kong: Hong Kong Harbor, one of the world’s most scenic, rewards passengers with vistas of skyscrapers, mountains, ferries and sampans.
—
Georgina Cruz, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
Malay, Chinese and Indian laborers did laundry, steered sampan boats and cleared land for the White military members.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022
Max, 6, my youngest, bolted past the staff lined up to greet us and planted his nose on the lee-side picture window to watch a woman in a conical hat haul a net of glittering fish onto her sampan.
—Laura Dannen Redman, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018
Housed in a pastel-yellow colonial building opposite a 16th-century church, its entrance is flanked by tall vases, depicting sampan gliding between karst hills.
—The Economist, 19 May 2018
The petite young woman who rowed our sampan had powerful, broad shoulders and tough, worn hands gripping the oars.
—Diana Lambdin Meyer, kansascity.com, 9 May 2017
Small sampan boats, ox carts, tuk-tuks, bicycle rickshaws, and your own two feet get you through two countries heavy with history.
—Veronica Stoddart, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2017
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.
Georgina Cruz, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
Malay, Chinese and Indian laborers did laundry, steered sampan boats and cleared land for the White military members.
—Lilit Marcus, CNN, 16 Sep. 2022
Max, 6, my youngest, bolted past the staff lined up to greet us and planted his nose on the lee-side picture window to watch a woman in a conical hat haul a net of glittering fish onto her sampan.
—Laura Dannen Redman, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 July 2018
Housed in a pastel-yellow colonial building opposite a 16th-century church, its entrance is flanked by tall vases, depicting sampan gliding between karst hills.
—The Economist, 19 May 2018
The petite young woman who rowed our sampan had powerful, broad shoulders and tough, worn hands gripping the oars.
—Diana Lambdin Meyer, kansascity.com, 9 May 2017
Small sampan boats, ox carts, tuk-tuks, bicycle rickshaws, and your own two feet get you through two countries heavy with history.
—Veronica Stoddart, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Mar. 2017
Dictionary Entries Near sampan
Cite this Entry
“Sampan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sampan. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sampan
noun
sam·pan
ˈsam-ˌpan 
: a flat-bottomed Chinese boat usually moved by oars
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share