noun
- large, flat-bottomed boats used for transporting goods on rivers, especially in early American history
Usage: historical; nautical
Examples
- Settlers used flatboats to carry their belongings down the Ohio River.
- The flatboats were loaded with corn and wheat for transport to New Orleans.
- Early pioneers built flatboats to navigate the shallow western rivers.
- Flatboats could carry heavy cargo but were difficult to steer upstream.
- The museum displayed a replica of the flatboats used by 19th-century traders.
- Families often lived on their flatboats during long river journeys.