Definition of "runabout" [runabout]

• A small motorboat. (noun)
• A light aircraft. (noun)
• A small, open automobile or carriage. (noun)
• A vagabond or wanderer. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "While the runabout is a faster deep-space vessel, the streamlined hull and large reinforced wings of the aeroshuttle make it significantly more efficient in high-speed atmospheric maneuvers and operations."
• "The trip to Bajor was too far for a transporter, and the runabout was the only way to get them there."
• "The last sight that Commander Sisko had of Bashir as the young doctor vanished into the runabout was a smug grin."