definitions

canoe

[ kuh-noo ]
/ kəˈnu /
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR canoe ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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), ca·noed, ca·noe·ing.

to paddle a canoe.
to go in a canoe.

verb (used with object), ca·noed, ca·noe·ing.

to transport or carry by canoe.

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RELATED WORDS

kayak, outrigger, dugout, coracle, pirogue, piragua

Nearby words

cannular, cannulate, cannulation, canny, canoas, canoe, canoe birch, canoe slalom, canoewood, canola, canola oil

Idioms

    paddle one's own canoe, Informal.
    1. to handle one's own affairs; manage independently.
    2. to mind one's own business.

Origin of canoe

1545–55; < French < Spanish canoa < Arawak; replacing canoa < Spanish

Related forms

ca·noe·ist, noun

Can be confused

barge boat canoe cruise ship sailboat ship yacht
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for canoe

British Dictionary definitions for canoe

canoe

/ (kəˈnuː) /

noun

a light narrow open boat, propelled by one or more paddles
NZ another word for waka (def. 1)
in the same canoe NZ of the same tribe

verb -noes, -noeing or -noed

to go in a canoe or transport by canoe

Derived Forms

canoeing, nouncanoeist, noun

Word Origin for canoe

C16: from Spanish canoa, of Carib origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with canoe

canoe

see paddle one's own canoe.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.