skiff

/skɪf/

Other forms: skiffs

A skiff is a small boat. If you decide to purchase a skiff instead of giant yacht, you're probably someone who prefers the quiet, simple life. (Or maybe you just didn’t want to spend the money on a yacht.)

A skiff may be powered by oars, sails, or a motor, but in any of these cases, a typical skiff can carry only a few passengers. Skiff originally referred to a small boat attached to a large ship; the skiff would have been used for communication with and transportation to other large ships and the shore. Winslow Homer, a 19th-century American artist, often portrayed skiffs in his depictions of marine scenes.

Definitions of skiff

1. noun

   any of various small boats propelled by oars or by sails or by a motor
   types:

   sampan

   an Asian skiff usually propelled by two oars

   type of:

   small boat

   a boat that is small