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.
-
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
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canoesimple
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canoessimple
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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
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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
The Best Starting Words for Wordle
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Native American History - Introductory
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"Encounter"
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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.
There was also a replica of Maui's 6m-long hook alongside a "breathtaking re-creation" of Moana's canoe.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 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
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
This is the best time to hunt in the kayak, the little canoe made of deerskin.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
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.
