kayak

American  

[kahy-ak] / ˈkaɪ æk /

Also kaiak,

noun

• kayaks
  plural

1. 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.

2. a small boat resembling this, made commercially of a variety of materials and used in sports.

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verb (used without object)

1. to go or travel by kayak.

verb (used with object)

1. to travel on by kayak.

   to kayak the Colorado River.

kayak British  

/ ˈkaɪæk /

noun

1. a small light canoe-like boat used by the Inuit, consisting of a light frame covered with watertight animal skins

2. a fibreglass or canvas-covered canoe of similar design

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• kayaker
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• kayaks
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of kayak

First recorded in 1750–60, kayak is from the Inuit word qayaq

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kayak kayaks

The man, not yet identified, was fishing from his kayak about two miles off the coast near Paradise Cove, NBC Los Angeles reported.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

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

The seals are out but they are not basking in the sunshine and neither are the holidaymakers who've come to kayak on Loch Leven's placid surface.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

If you’re looking to get active on the water, the Yacht Club of Saint-Tropez offers kayak, windsurf and paddleboard rentals, from around $23 per hour.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

“Your father,” she said, “went seal hunting in that ridiculous kayak. He has been gone a month this day. He will not be back. Bits of his kayak washed up on the shore.”

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

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

If you want to imagine time standing still, start at Burke’s Canoe Trips, which has been renting canoes and kayaks for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

On stretches of waterfront, people linger in boats, kayaks and pool floats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

"An elderly person living permanently in a village has a perfect right to be there but is not hiring paddleboards and kayaks, or going to restaurants," he says.

From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026

People in skinny red kayaks row past, and I wave to them.

From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio

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