boat
- ship
‘boat’
A boat is a small vessel for travelling on water, especially one that carries only a few people.
John took me down the river in the old boat.
...a fishing boat.
‘ship’
A larger vessel is usually referred to as a ship.
The ship was due to sail the following morning.
However, in conversation large passenger ships which travel short distances are sometimes called boats.
She was getting off at Hamburg to take the boat to Stockholm.
Be careful
When you are describing the way in which someone travels, you do not say that they travel ‘by the boat’ or ‘by the ship’. You say that they travel by boat or by ship.
When you are describing the way in which someone travels, you do not say that they travel ‘by the boat’ or ‘by the ship’. You say that they travel by boat or by ship.
We are going by boat.
They were sent home by ship.