kayak
Americannoun
-
kayaks
plural
-
a traditional Inuit or Yupik canoe with a skin cover on a light framework, made watertight by flexible closure around the waist of the occupant and propelled with a double-bladed paddle.
-
a small boat resembling this, made commercially of a variety of materials and used in sports.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a small light canoe-like boat used by the Inuit, consisting of a light frame covered with watertight animal skins
-
a fibreglass or canvas-covered canoe of similar design
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of kayak
First recorded in 1750–60, kayak is from the Inuit word qayaq
Explanation
A kayak is a narrow one- or two-person boat that is propelled with a double-ended paddle. You can use a kayak in the ocean, on a pond or lake, or in a river. When you get in a kayak and start paddling around, you kayak (the verb). People who visit the beach often rent sea kayaks and kayak around the shore and between small islands. An even more adventurous way to kayak is in a whitewater kayak on a fast-moving river. Kayaks were first built and used by Inuits, Aleuts, and Yup'iks, and the word comes from the Inuit qayaq, "small boat of skins."
Vocabulary lists containing kayak
Scrabble: Palindrome Words
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 16–February 22, 2025
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Black Star, Bright Dawn
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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:
My travels had taken me to coastal areas in Connecticut and New York that are so privatized, you’d need a kayak or a parachute to make it onto a beach.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
She enrolled in classes on kayak rescue and wilderness survival.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Then we paddled around the estuary on a pre-breakfast kayak tour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
When the weather cooperates, take to the sea by paddleboard or kayak, easy to rent from Sea Nantucket.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
“That’s where I saw the kayak last April.”
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
They spent $1.3 million building a 5,000-square-foot home with a dock for their jet-skis, kayaks, sailboat and Boston Whaler.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
In warmer weather, you can rent kayaks, wave runners and paddleboards or take a seasonal cruise aboard the Lake Lawn Queen; winter brings cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, ice fishing and sledding.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
The Float and Fish excursion sends guests in kayaks along a clear and fast-moving section of the river, casting in pockets and eddies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
It interacted with several of the kayaks and even popped its head up to have a look at them for about 20 minutes.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025
We pull the kayaks onto the rocks and climb to where it’s dry and cool.
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
