canoe
Americannoun
-
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.
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any of various small, primitive light boats.
verb (used without object)
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to paddle a canoe.
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to go in a canoe.
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
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a light narrow open boat, propelled by one or more paddles
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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
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has been canoeingperfect progressive
Past
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canoedsimple
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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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Native American History - Introductory
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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:
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
Once it became clear that the survivors of the Mentor were American, the Ngarchelongese agreed to help them get home by building them a canoe to supplement their whaling boat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
There are pools, hot tubs and a lazy river, and canoe rentals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
"Tourism is a big boost to our local economy but who would want to canoe or swim in a dirty river?"
From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026
She added her clams to a bucketful in the canoe, secured the empty pouch back at her waist, held her nostrils closed with one hand, and dived back in.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
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
Observations show the people use narrow outrigger canoes, live in large communal huts, carry spears, bows and arrows, and wear fibre waistbelts, as well as necklaces and headbands.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
At noon on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 1806, five large canoes and a pirogue approached the township of St. Louis in the Louisiana Territory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 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
From sunup to sundown, Kermit, along with Lyra and four camaradas, worked on getting the canoes down the six waterfalls.
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
Some resident canoed and kayaked along main streets, while others slogged through the waist-high water to survey the scene.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
The conservationist Aldo Leopold, who canoed through the delta in 1922, described it as “a hundred green lagoons” and said he paddled through waters “of a deep emerald hue.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2023
One of Douglas Bruce’s favorite memories of his son was when he was about 10, and they canoed the Boundary Waters in northeast Minnesota, near the Canadian border.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2022
More than a century later the French explorer La Salle canoed down the Mississippi.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
On a recent morning, Britt Eastland was inspecting a trail at his family’s summer camp, anticipating another season of fishing, camping and canoeing just six weeks away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Most of the Games will be held across Los Angeles and southern California, but both canoeing and softball will be held in Oklahoma.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 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
“They would have canoeing lessons and water parades,” Dodge said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2025
I’ve never been canoeing before, but the book looked good.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
