[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/narrowboat/)

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# narrowboat

noun (a narrowboat, narrowboats)

«narrowboat» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A long, thin boat made to travel on the narrow canals of Britain, usually about 2 metres wide and up to 22 metres long. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#m1)
2. Such a boat used as a floating home or for holidays. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#m2)

### In the lessons

In history, narrowboats pulled by horses walking along the towpath carried coal and goods on canals in the 1700s and 1800s; families lived in a tiny cabin at the back, painted with roses and castles. In The Wind in the Willows Toad meets a barge-woman on the canal with her horse. Today many people live on narrowboats or hire them for holidays. Safety: canals have locks and deep water.

### Examples

- We spent a week on a narrowboat on the canal. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#x1)
- A horse once pulled the narrowboat along the towpath. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#x2)
- The narrowboat was painted with roses and castles. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#x3)
- My uncle lives on a narrowboat in London. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#x4)
- The narrowboat went slowly through the lock. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#x5)
- Narrowboats are only about two metres wide. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/#x6)

### Note

Countable. Written as one word or two («narrow boat»). Mostly a British word. Not the same as a barge, which is usually wider.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «narrowboat» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/N/narrowboat/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«narrowboat» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/narrowboat.html) on Mova free.