Boater
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Someone who travels by boat.
- 2 a stiff hat made of straw with a flat crown wordnet
- 3 Synonym of boatman, particularly its captain.
"In the summer of 1992, eight beaches were closed and swimmers were warned away because of colliform bacteria, caused by boaters emptying toilets directly into the lake or onto nearby shores. Park officials may soon supply the lake with floating waste disposal systems."
- 4 someone who drives or rides in a boat wordnet
- 5 A straw hat, very stiff, with a flat brim and crown.
"Technically, Melania Trump was in attendance, but she chose to make herself almost invisible. Her dark boater hat was worn so low that it threw her entire face into shadow, and made eye contact with cameras or guests impossible."
Example
More examples"In the summer of 1992, eight beaches were closed and swimmers were warned away because of colliform bacteria, caused by boaters emptying toilets directly into the lake or onto nearby shores. Park officials may soon supply the lake with floating waste disposal systems."
Etymology
From Middle English botere; equivalent to boat + -er. The use of the term for a straw hat stems from the fact that straw hats were the preferred head covering during sunny boat trips on canals and rivers.
Related phrases
More for "boater"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.