Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Having a flat bottom: Describes an object, typically a boat or vessel, whose bottom surface is flat rather than curved or V-shaped.

Usage

• This adjective is used to describe the physical structure of an object, emphasizing the flatness of its underside. It is most commonly applied to watercraft.
• It is often used in the hyphenated form "flat-bottom" when placed before a noun (e.g., a flat-bottom boat). The unhyphenated form "flat bottomed" is also common, especially after a verb like "is" or "was".

Examples

• Adjective:
  • We used a flat-bottom boat to navigate the shallow marsh.
  • The barge is flat-bottomed, making it stable in calm water.
  • These flat-bottom skiffs are ideal for fishing on the lake.

Advanced Usage

• "flat-bottomed": The more frequent adjectival form, especially in predicative position (after the verb).
  • The vessel was flat-bottomed and drew very little water.

Variants and Related Words

• Flat-bottomed (adj): The standard full form of the adjective.
• Flatboat (n): A type of boat with a flat bottom, used especially on rivers.
• Shallow-draft (adj): Often used synonymously to describe boats designed for shallow water, which frequently have flat bottoms.

Synonyms

• Shallow-draft: Designed to operate in shallow water (often implies a flat bottom).
• Punt-like: Resembling a punt, a type of flat-bottomed boat.

Antonyms

• V-bottomed: Having a hull with a V-shaped bottom.
• Keeled: Having a pronounced keel (a central structural ridge along the bottom).

Adjective

1. having a flat bottom
   • a flat-bottomed boat