oarlock
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of oarlock
before 1100; Middle English orlok, Old English ārloc. See oar, lock 1
Explanation
An oarlock is a device that attaches an oar to the side of a rowboat. Most oarlocks are built into the sides of the boat, and they make rowing much easier. You're less likely to lose an oar if your boat has oarlocks, and they also provide a base or fulcrum for the oars. On a racing boat, the oarlocks are especially designed for ease of moving the oar, while the oarlocks on your old metal dinghy are likely to be simpler. In either case, they can be made of metal, wood, or plastic, and are called "rowlocks" or "spurs" in the UK and "gates" in Australia.
Vocabulary lists containing oarlock
The Boys in the Boat
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"Old World New World" and "The Log of Christopher Columbus"
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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
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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.
"We were standing about a little bit after we put the oars in the oarlock," Moch explained to me the year before he died.
From Slate • Jul. 23, 2012
Just before the start, though, an oarlock broke in Washington's boat, deep-sixing the race.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2011
I felt with my hands and found the closest oarlock.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Emma clung to me and I clung to the oarlock; behind us Hugh held on to the seat with his arms.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
I dropped it in an oarlock and pulled as hard as I could, meaning to move the lifeboat away.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
