scow

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a broad, flat-bottomed boat used chiefly to carry bulk freight

   A loaded scow moved slowly downriver behind the tugboat.

2. 2
   noun

   a flat-bottomed boat with broad, sloping or square ends

   The fishermen crossed the shallow channel in an old wooden scow.

3. 3
   verb

   to transport something in a scow

   The contractor scowed gravel across the inlet for the roadworks.

Borrowed from Dutch schouw, a flat-bottomed boat. The English word became especially associated with working boats that carry loose freight on rivers and harbors.

Topics