U-boat

noun

Any German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War.

OriginGerman U-Boot →
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Meanings

nounU-boat (plural U-boats)

plural U-boats

  1. historicalgovernmentAny German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War.
  2. economicsA narrow utility cart with tall handles on both ends that is used to carry loads of retail products to be sold, so named because its shape is roughly that of a capital U.
  3. slangrail transportNickname given to the General Electric Universal Series diesel-electric locomotives.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
submarine

Origin

  1. GermanU-Boot
  2. EnglishU-boat

Calque of German U-Boot; retail sense separately coined and reinforced by the well-known historical U-boat.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin U艇
  • U艇 (yōutǐng)any German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War
German U-Boot
  • U-Bootany German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War
Polish U-Boot
  • U-Bootany German submarine of the First or Second World War, or any Austro-Hungarian submarine of the First World War
Cite this entry
APA

U-boat. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/U-boat

MLA

“U-boat.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/U-boat. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “U-boat,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/U-boat.

Source: U-boat on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.