keel·boat (k?l?b?t?)n.1. A riverboat with a keel but usually without sails, used for carrying freight.2. A small sailboat having a fixed, weighted keel rather than a centerboard.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.keelboat (?ki?l?b??t) n (Nautical Terms) a river boat with a shallow draught and a keel, used for freight and moved by towing, punting, or rowingCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014keel?boat (?kil?bo?t) n. a roughly built, shallow freight boat having a keel to permit sailing into the wind. [1685?95] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.