boat-race

verb

to defeat by a wide margin, especially after establishing and sustaining an early lead

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Meanings

verbboat-race (third-person singular simple present boat-races, present participle boat-racing, simple past and past participle boat-raced)

present singular third person boat-races · participle present boat-racing · participle past boat-raced · past boat-raced · alternative boat race

  1. USinformalhobbiesto defeat by a wide margin, especially after establishing and sustaining an early lead

    On Friday night, the Golden State Warriors boat raced the Utah Jazz by a score of 127-86. ... The game was decided so early that Steph Curry didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

    2024 October 26, Alex White, “Jazz Taste Harsh Reality in Early Season Loss to Warriors”, in Sports Illustrated

Origin

By figurative analogy with the large margin of victory formerly common in America's Cup yacht races.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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