boatpeople
nounUK /ˈbəʊtˌpiːpəl/
US /ˈboʊtˌpiːpəl/
Boatpeople are people who leave their country in small boats to find a safer place to live.
The boatpeople sailed across the sea hoping to reach a new home.
OTHER MEANINGS
2. People who live on boats or travel mainly by boat.
The river village was home to many boatpeople who fished for a living.
3. Groups of people fleeing a country by sea because of war or danger.
After the war, thousands of boatpeople were rescued by nearby ships.
4. In history, people who escaped by boat from Vietnam after 1975.
The Vietnamese boatpeople were often taken in by refugee camps in other countries.