canoe
Americannoun
-
canoes
plural
-
any of various slender, open boats, tapering to a point at both ends, propelled by paddles or sometimes sails and traditionally formed of light framework covered with bark, skins, or canvas, or formed from a dug-out or burned-out log or logs, and now usually made of aluminum, fiberglass, etc.
-
any of various small, primitive light boats.
verb (used without object)
-
canoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
canoed,
past participle, past
-
canoeing
present participle
-
to paddle a canoe.
-
to go in a canoe.
verb (used with object)
-
canoes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
canoed,
past participle, past
-
canoeing
present participle
idioms
noun
-
a light narrow open boat, propelled by one or more paddles
-
another word for waka
-
of the same tribe
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
canoesimple
-
canoessimple
-
have canoedperfect
-
has canoedperfect
-
am canoeingprogressive
-
are canoeingprogressive
-
is canoeingprogressive
-
have been canoeingperfect progressive
-
has been canoeingperfect progressive
Past
-
canoedsimple
-
had canoedperfect
-
was canoeingprogressive
-
were canoeingprogressive
-
had been canoeingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of canoe
1545–55; < French < Spanish canoa < Arawak; replacing canoa < Spanish
Explanation
A canoe is a narrow boat that you propel and steer by paddling. Most canoes are fairly light, so that one or two people can carry them easily to the water. A canoe is wide enough for one person to sit in front of another, and pointed at both ends. Paddlers sit or kneel in the canoe and push through the water with wide, usually wooden paddles to direct their path through the water. The word canoe comes, by way of the Spanish canoa, from the Haitian language known as Carib or Arawakan, canaoua.
Vocabulary lists containing canoe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He runs an industrial canoe business that he started with high school friends who also grew up in Hawaii.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
After working with a 17-foot canoe as a centerpiece for the Huntington exhibition, Saar told Curate LA that she felt compelled to return to small-scale pieces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Hearn competed three times in the Olympics in the slalom canoe category, and won two world championships for the sport.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Maine’s camp culture combines rustic canoe trips and campfires with a polished social ecosystem that brings convoys of black SUVs to the state every summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
The camaradas in his canoe, Simplicio and Henrique, paddled and steered the small canoe to the shoreline.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
The clean-up team was loaned two canoes from Northampton Active, which were used to support the divers.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
On the park's website, the authority said visitors must not enter the water at any time, which includes using kayaks, canoes, paddle boards and dinghies.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
“He said we’ve had about 4 inches of rain and we should probably move the canoes and waterfront equipment,” Edward recalled, describing this as standard procedure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
According to the listing, the three-bedroom cottage features nearly 400 feet of private waterways, outdoor activities like kayaks and canoes and an exercise room.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
They found some slight relief from the biting insects—as long as the canoes were in constant motion.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
Garwood, who has canoed the length of the Mississippi River solo, an odyssey that lasted 84 days, has a deep reverence for his home ground, and the winter that is part of a Minnesotan’s identity.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
Bryan Pfeiffer canoed around downtown to check out the damage and was appalled by what he saw.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
In the language of the nomadic Chono people, who once canoed and lived off this land, queulat means “the sound of falling water” — and queulat indeed followed me everywhere across the national park.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2022
“We went up to Osceola and canoed down to Marine on St. Croix. Man, did we have a good time. We got engaged after 53 days; that river did its work.”
From Washington Times ● May 3, 2021
That summer he played tennis, swam, fished, and canoed on the Potomac River.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
At Camp Golden Eagle, in Woodruff, Wis., all the usual activities were ours: baseball, archery, canoeing, swimming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Hearn, who competed in three Olympic Summer Games in canoeing, told US media he visited the refurbished pool after a long bike ride and noticed a piece of partially detached liner.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
Frank’s Paddlesport Livery is the first recreational kayaking, canoeing, and stand-up paddleboard operator to open downtown, thanks to the cleanup effort.
From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2026
Those who have joined the group legal claim all either live or work alongside the rivers or use them regularly for leisure activities like swimming and canoeing.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
Finally we returned to the canoeing lake, where the trail led back to the cabins.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
