noun
- Plural of bateau; flat-bottomed boats or barges, typically used for transporting cargo on rivers and canals.
Usage: chiefly historical; North American
Examples
- The fur traders used batteaux to navigate the shallow rivers of the frontier.
- Colonial merchants loaded their batteaux with goods bound for distant settlements.
- Several batteaux were moored along the canal, waiting to be unloaded.
- The batteaux proved ideal for transporting heavy cargo through narrow waterways.