yacht

1 of 2

noun

ˈyät 

: any of various recreational watercraft: such as

a

: a sailboat used for racing

b

: a large usually motor-driven craft used for pleasure cruising

yacht

2 of 2

verb

yachted; yachting; yachts

intransitive verb

: to race or cruise in a yacht

Examples of yacht in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The revelation comes after Ne-Yo flicked it up on a yacht earlier this month alongside three of his partners who go by the Instagram handles: Daddys_Pretty_Baby__, Phoneixx__feather, and ArielleHill. —Amber Corrine, VIBE.com, 26 Feb. 2025

Quentin died after Tanya shot him and other guests and crew members aboard his yacht on the way back to Taormina, Sicily. —Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 25 Feb. 2025

Verb

Stew Brianna is a model who is newish to yachting and has a truly enviable mane of copper hair. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Feb. 2025

Tributes have poured in from yachting publications and competitors all over the world, many noting that Vitelli created brands that are as important to yachting as Gucci and Prada are to fashion, or Ferrari and Lamborghini are to the sports-car world. —Robb Report Staff, Robb Report, 6 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

obsolete Dutch jaght, from Middle Low German jacht, short for jachtschip, literally, hunting ship

First Known Use

Noun

1557, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1836, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing yacht

• land yacht
• yacht club

Rhymes for yacht

• aught
• baht
• blot
• bott
• bought
• brought
• caught
• clot
• cot
• cott
• dot
• fought

Kids Definition

yacht

1 of 2 noun

ˈyät 

: a fairly small ship used for pleasure cruising or racing

yacht

2 of 2 verb

: to race or cruise in a yacht

Etymology

Noun

from obsolete Dutch jaght (now jacht), short for jachtschip, literally, "hunting ship"

Word Origin

In the 16th century, the Dutch were being attacked by pirates and smugglers who managed to escape after their raids because their ships were much faster than the heavy warships used by the Dutch. To solve the problem, the Dutch began building smaller, sleeker, faster craft. This new kind of craft was called a jaght (later spelled jacht) in Dutch. The word was derived from the Dutch phrase jachtschip, literally meaning "hunting ship." In 1660, the Dutch East India Company presented one of these boats to England's King Charles II. He used it for a pleasure boat rather than for chasing pirates. Soon, other wealthy Englishmen wanted boats just like the king's. The style was then copied and improved over the years. The name for this craft also went through a number of changes over the years, from the original jaght, taken from the Dutch, to the yacht spelling we have today.