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:
He improvised repairs using PVC pipes and kayak paddles to get his boat back on course.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 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
Bury got into a kayak but there were no oars nearby to help him paddle, he told the station.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Andy, helm of the inshore lifeboat, said Marley and Dai had done "exactly the right things" by wearing life jackets, staying with the kayak and calling for help.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 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
But even at Burke’s, things change: Demand is up for kayaks, down for the metal canoes, which are heavier.
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
Some occupants escaped the fire by jumping from an elevated first floor, they said, adding that some had to be rescued from the backyard with kayaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2025
I had no idea why they put out the kayaks.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
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.
