Boat

a vessel for transport by water, constructed to provide buoyancy by excluding water and shaped to give stability and permit propulsion.
a small ship, generally for specialized use:
a fishing boat.
a small vessel carried for use by a large one, as a lifeboat:
They lowered the boats for evacuation.
a ship.
a vessel of any size built for navigation on a river or other inland body of water.
a serving dish resembling a boat:
a gravy boat; a celery boat.
Ecclesiastical. a container for holding incense before it is placed in the censer.
to go in a boat:
We boated down the Thames.
to transport in a boat:
They boated us across the bay.
to remove (an oar) from the water and place athwartships.
Compare ship (def 10).
in the same boat, in the same circumstances; faced with the same problems:
The new recruits were all in the same boat.
miss the boat, Informal.

to fail to take advantage of an opportunity:
He missed the boat when he applied too late to get into college.
to miss the point of; fail to understand:
I missed the boat on that explanation.

rock the boat. rock2 (def 15).
Contemporary Examples

Japanese Horror Director Tackles the 3/11 Tsunami Jake Adelstein, Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky February 22, 2013
Cossacks: The Cowboys of Crimea Kamil Tchorek March 11, 2014
Japan Earthquake: Gripping Survivor Stories The Daily Beast March 12, 2011
Gal with a Suitcase Jolie Hunt April 17, 2010
Our Trip to The Climate War’s Ground Zero Darren Aronofsky September 18, 2014

Historical Examples

Tales of the Fish Patrol Jack London
Explorations in Australia John Forrest
Diary of an Enlisted Man Lawrence Van Alstyne
Brave and Bold Horatio Alger
The Motor Boys Afloat Clarence Young

noun
a small vessel propelled by oars, paddle, sails, or motor for travelling, transporting goods, etc, esp one that can be carried aboard a larger vessel
(not in technical use) another word for ship
(navy) a submarine
a container for gravy, sauce, etc
a small boat-shaped container for incense, used in some Christian churches
in the same boat, sharing the same problems
burn one’s boats, See burn1 (sense 19)
miss the boat, to lose an opportunity
(Brit, informal) push the boat out, to celebrate, esp lavishly and expensively
(informal) rock the boat, to cause a disturbance in the existing situation
verb
(intransitive) to travel or go in a boat, esp as a form of recreation
(transitive) to transport or carry in a boat
n.

A car: The little boat (automobile, in the argot of ’22) (1915+)
A big car: Why don’t you park that boat there, hop inside with me (1920+)
A big shoe; gunboats: leaving his boats out in the hall

see:

burn one’s bridges (boats)
in the same boat
miss the boat
rock the boat