boatload
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From boat + load. Notionally, because the commodity in question might have constituted the entire load of a cargo ship or boat.
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈbəʊtˌləʊd/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈboʊtˌloʊd/
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun[edit]
boatload (plural boatloads)
- Cargo or passengers that fill a boat.
- a boatload of illegal immigrants
- (slang) A large quantity.
- He showed up an hour later with a whole boatload of hamburgers, chips, cookies, and assorted other munchies, not to mention sodas and beer, and we all fell in and stuffed ourselves silly.
- 2006, Rob Pegoraro, "Waiting for the Winner of a High-Definition High Noon", The Washington Post, December 10 [1]
- What's a fair price to pay for video perfection, or even something that looks a lot like it? In the case of high-definition movie discs, the answer may not just be "a boatload of money," but having to keep two incompatible players under the TV set.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
A large quantity.
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References[edit]
- “boatload”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.