boatload

IPA/ˈbəʊtləʊd/
KK[bˈotlˌod]IPA/ˈbəʊtləʊd/

boatload — noun

  • boatloadsingular
  • boatloadsplural

1. a very large quantity of something, often more than you expected or can deal wit

1.名詞B1
釋義

a very large quantity of something, often more than you expected or can deal with easily.

例句

Eleni brought a boatload of tomatoes from her uncle's farm.

a boatload of + countable noun

We got a boatload of emails after the festival poster went online.

figurative: a boatload of [abstract things]

同義詞
  • load

    less vivid and more general; it can describe a large amount without the playful image

  • ton

    very common in casual speech, but it does not suggest a container or vehicle

  • truckload

    similarly vivid and informal, but it suggests quantity by road transport rather than by boat

文法句型

a boatload of + noun

boatloads of + plural noun

用法筆記

This sense is usually used in the pattern "a boatload of + noun". It is often an exaggeration in everyday speech, not a statement about anything actually moved by boat.

常見錯誤

❌She got boatload of replies after lunch.
✅She got a boatload of replies after lunch.
💡boatload is a countable noun and usually needs an article or number.

2. the people or goods that fill one boat, or the amount a boat can carry in a sing

2.名詞B2
釋義

the people or goods that fill one boat, or the amount a boat can carry in a single trip.

例句

The guide said one boatload of visitors could cross the river at a time.

one boatload of + passengers

Workers moved the rice in three boatloads before the storm reached the island.

plural countable use with numbers

同義詞
  • boatful

    very close in meaning, but less common in everyday use

  • load

    more general and does not show that transport by boat is important

  • shipment

    used for goods being sent, not for a full group of passengers on one boat

文法句型

one boatload of + people

two boatloads of + cargo

用法筆記

This sense refers to an actual trip or load by water. It commonly appears with words such as "one," "two," "another," or "final" when speakers count separate trips or loads.

常見錯誤

❌The ferry took a boatload passengers across the bay.
✅The ferry took a boatload of passengers across the bay.
💡boatload normally takes 'of' before the people or goods being carried.