a small vessel for travel on water
"We rented a small boat to explore the quiet coves along the coastline."
a dish (often boat-shaped) for serving gravy or sauce
"After pouring the rich beef gravy into the ceramic gravy boat, she carefully ladled it over the tender roast before passing it to her guests."
A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind.
"Among every album I own, Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is truly a boat for me."
Acronym of best of all time.
In plain English: A boat is a small vessel designed to float on water and carry people or goods.
"We rented a small boat to cross the lake on our vacation."
Usage: Use "boat" as a noun to refer to a watercraft propelled by oars or sails, not as an acronym for "best of all time." The slang meaning is informal and specific to certain subcultures, whereas the primary definition involves a vessel used for transportation on water.
To travel by boat.
"We decided to boat across the lake during our summer vacation."
In plain English: To boat means to travel somewhere by riding in a small watercraft.
"We decided to boat across the lake instead of driving."
Usage: Use "boated" only when describing the act of traveling in a watercraft; do not use it to mean carrying something or transporting people unless they are literally on a boat. For example, say he "boated across the lake" rather than using the word for moving items by truck.
The word "boat" comes from the Germanic root meaning "to break or split," likely referring to how a vessel is constructed by splitting logs. It traveled into English through Old English and Middle English, retaining its original sense of a small ship throughout its history.