Boating Terms

noun a type of boat that is powered by a motor rather than sails or oars

• The motorboat cruised gracefully along the river, its engine humming softly.
• We took the motorboat out for a spin on the lake and had a blast.
• Let's hop on the motorboat and go for a joyride!
• His mind was a motorboat, racing through thoughts at top speed.

noun a kick in which the ball is dropped and then kicked before it touches the ground

verb to kick the ball before it touches the ground, typically in football or rugby

• The football team decided to punt on fourth down to avoid turning the ball over.
• I heard the coach is going to punt instead of going for it on fourth down.
• Let's just punt on this project and move on to something else.
• She decided to punt on the idea of starting her own business and pursue a different career instead.

noun a small rowboat or an oar for a rowboat

• The rower used precise movements to scull the boat across the lake.
• I love to scull on the weekends with my friends for some fun on the water.
• Let's hop in the scull and cruise around the river for a bit.
• Her mind seemed to scull through the sea of information, searching for the answer.

noun the backward motion of a ship

adverb in a backward direction

• The ship began to move astern, gaining sternway as it reversed away from the dock.
• The boat picked up sternway as it backed up in the water.
• The captain gunned the engines in reverse and got some serious sternway going.
• His career seemed to be in sternway as he made progress in his new job.

noun a window above a door or other window, usually hinged to the horizontal crosspiece separating the door from the window

• The transom above the door allowed natural light to filter into the room.
• I always forget to close the transom in the bathroom before showering.
• I propped open the transom so we could sneak out of the party.
• The success of the project was the transom through which many opportunities opened up.

verb To raise the anchor of a ship from the seabed in preparation for sailing.

• The captain gave the command to weigh anchor as the ship prepared to set sail.
• Hey, can you help me weigh anchor before we head out on the boat?
• Let's get this party started, time to weigh anchor and hit the open seas!
• It's time to let go of the past and weigh anchor on a new chapter in life.