Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small powerful boat designed for towing or pushing larger vessels.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A strongly built steamboat used for towing sailing and other vessels; a towboat; a tug.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun See tug, n., 3.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small, powerful boat used to push or pull barges or to help maneuver larger vessels.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a powerful small boat designed to pull or push larger ships

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From tug +‎ boat.

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Examples

  • The tugboat is Italian-flagged, but its ownership was unclear.

    Philly.com - Latest Videos 2009

  • A preliminary federal report says an idled tour boat and nearby vessels repeatedly called the tugboat guiding the barge that hit and sank the craft, killing two Hungarian students.

    CourierPostOnline.com - News 2010

  • PHILADELPHIA - A preliminary federal report says an idled tour boat and nearby vessels repeatedly called the tugboat guiding the barge that hit and sank the craft, killing two

    daytondailynews.com - News 2010

  • The only other way to gelift boats to the continent would be by pushing them with a tugboat, which is a slow and possibly dangerous process.

    The Facts: News 2010

  • A preliminary federal report says an idled tour boat and nearby vessels repeatedly called the tugboat guiding the barge that hit and sank the craft, killing two Hungarian students.

    CourierPostOnline.com - News 2010

  • PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A preliminary federal report says an idled tour boat and nearby vessels repeatedly called the tugboat guiding the barge that hit and sank the craft, killing two

    KVUE - Home 2010

  • No one was onboard the tugboat, which is registered to F&A Enterprises in St. Augustine.

    CNN.com 2009

  • No one was onboard the tugboat, which is registered to F&A Enterprises in St. Augustine.

    CNN.com 2009

  • Work to remove the partially sunken tugboat, which is west of the 10th Street Bridge, is expected to start in a couple of hours.

    Paul & Matt's Sports Attack 2009

  • But its hands are tied in key respects by international agreements, some several decades old, that give primacy to commercial shipping and make basic safety measures such as tugboat escorts optional rather than mandatory.

    Turkey Turns Focus To Tanker-Clogged Strait 2010

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