packet boat
"packet-boat" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“packet boat” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 11
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An ocean-going ship chartered by the government to carry the mail and official communications.
Corpus desk
Index EN-packet-boat · packet boat · English
packet boat · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 11 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | packet boat |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| Letters | 11 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “packet boat” in English
Rare enough to double-check
packet boat is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
Zero misspellings are on record for packet boat in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From packet, meaning the packets of mail that were carried. For the passenger boats, the name derives from the boats that carried mail (and sometimes passengers) on rivers or canals, from which these services evolved. The correct English form is packet boat, spelled P-A-C-K-E-T- -B-O-A-T.
Definition
- 1An ocean-going ship chartered by the government to carry the mail and official communications.
- 2A boat that carried mail, cargo, and, in later years, some passengers along a regularly scheduled route up and down a river or canal.
- 3A boat specifically designed to provide transportation to passengers on a regular schedule up and down a river or canal.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how packet boat appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
For every trunk, portmanteau, chest, box, bag, bundle, packet, or parcel, conveyed from any inn to the Custom-house, and from thence to or on board any boat, passage vessel, or packet boat, or landed from any boat, passage vessel or packet boat, and conveyed to the Custom-house, and from thence to any inn, or to the Custom-house only, or direct to any inn…
But the case of Rex v. Jones establishes the principle, that a packet boat employed by his Majesty to carry mails is rateable.
Etymology
From packet, meaning the packets of mail that were carried. For the passenger boats, the name derives from the boats that carried mail (and sometimes passengers) on rivers or canals, from which these services evolved.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.