boatlift

See also: boat lift

English

Etymology

From boat +‎ lift.

Noun

boatlift (plural boatlifts)

1. The (often clandestine) transportation of a large number of people or amount of goods by boat, especially an exodus of people.
2. Alternative form of boat lift (“mechanism used for raising and lowering boats on a canal vertically from one water level to another”).

Verb

boatlift (third-person singular simple present boatlifts, present participle boatlifting, simple past and past participle boatlifted)

1. (transitive) To transport (a large exodus of people, etc.) by boat.