paddle

¹ American  

[pad-l] / ˈpæd l /

noun

• paddles
  plural

1. a short, flat bladed oar for propelling and steering a canoe or small boat, usually held by both hands and moved more or less through a vertical arc.

2. any of various similar implements used for mixing, stirring, or beating.

3. any of various similar but smaller implements with a short handle for holding in one hand and a wide or rounded blade, used for a racket in table tennis, paddle tennis, etc.

4. such an implement or a similarly shaped makeshift one, used to spank or beat someone.

5. an implement used for beating garments while washing them in running water, as in a stream.

6. Also called float, floatboard.  a blade of a paddle wheel.

7. paddle wheel.

8. any of the blades by which a water wheel is turned.

9. a flipper or limb of a penguin, turtle, whale, etc.

10. an act of paddling.

11. British Dialect. Also pattle a small spade with a long handle, used to dig up thistles.

12. (in a gate of a lock or sluice) a panel that slides to permit the passage of water.

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verb (used without object)

paddled, paddling

1. to propel or travel in a canoe or the like by using a paddle.

2. to row lightly or gently with oars.

3. to move by means of paddle wheels, as a steamer.

verb (used with object)

paddled, paddling

1. to propel with a paddle.

   to paddle a canoe.

2. to spank or beat with or as with a paddle.

3. to stir, mix, or beat with or as with a paddle

4. to convey by paddling, as a canoe.

5. to hit (a table-tennis ball or the like) with a paddle.

idioms

1. paddle one's own canoe. canoe.

paddle ² American  

[pad-l] / ˈpæd l /

verb (used without object)

paddled, paddling

1. to move the feet or hands playfully in shallow water; dabble.

2. to toy with the fingers.

3. to toddle.

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paddle ¹ British  

/ ˈpædəl /

noun

1. a short light oar with a flat blade at one or both ends, used without a rowlock to propel a canoe or small boat

2. Also called: float.  a blade of a water wheel or paddle wheel

3. a period of paddling

   to go for a paddle upstream

4. 1. a paddle wheel used to propel a boat

   2. ( as modifier )

      a paddle steamer

5. the sliding panel in a lock or sluicegate that regulates the level or flow of water

6. any of various instruments shaped like a paddle and used for beating, mixing, etc

7. a table-tennis bat

8. the flattened limb of a seal, turtle, or similar aquatic animal, specialized for swimming

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verb

1. to propel (a canoe, small boat, etc) with a paddle

2. 1. to be self-sufficient

   2. to mind one's own business

3. (tr) to convey by paddling

   we paddled him to the shore

4. (tr) to stir or mix with or as if with a paddle

5. to row (a boat) steadily, esp (of a racing crew) to row firmly but not at full pressure

6. (intr) (of steamships) to be propelled by paddle wheels

7. (intr) to swim with short rapid strokes, like a dog

8. informal (tr) to spank

paddle ² British  

/ ˈpædəl /

verb

1. to walk or play barefoot in shallow water, mud, etc

2. to dabble the fingers, hands, or feet in water

3. to walk unsteadily, like a baby

4. archaic (tr) to fondle with the fingers

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noun

1. the act of paddling in water

paddle More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing paddle

• up the creek (without a paddle)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• paddler
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• paddles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of paddle¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English noun padell “long-handled spade”; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Medieval Latin padela, padule

Origin of paddle²

First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain; perhaps from Low German paddeln “to tramp about”

Explanation

If you regularly ride around in a canoe, you’re undoubtedly already familiar with a paddle, a pole with a broad, flat end that is used to propel a boat forward. Nautical types will already know that the noun form of the word paddle refers to an implement with a flat blade used to move a boat through the water. The word can also be used to describe items with a similar look, such as a paddle used in table tennis or certain kinds of video games. The verb form of paddle refers to the action of navigating through the water, either in a boat using a paddle or as a swimmer who used the hands and feet to move around in shallow water.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

paddle paddles paddled paddling

In its 36th year, the race includes a mile-long run on the beach and a mile-long paddle in the ocean.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026

If children are desperate to go to the park or paddle at the beach, wait until it's cooler in the evening.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026

On Thursday, the beachside felt calm as a woman was leisurely paddle boarding in the shallows while children played on the beach.

From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026

If you’re not down with the fancy footwork, Mazda also offers the RF with a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

Three children who had been raised by wolves had certainly known enough of death to understand: A duck, once eaten, does not come back to paddle ’round the pond another day.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

Griffin added it was sad to see closures for a second summer running, but she stopped short of blaming maintenance issues alone, pointing to boaters who had hit gates or left lock paddles open.

From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026

The company is installing new mixing tanks, paddles and motors, Hewitt said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

German media have broadcast the hapless creature lying motionless in shallow water for hours on end, with men in diving suits splashing water on it using kayak paddles.

From Barron's ● Apr. 23, 2026

That was our ritual — sometimes four of us, sometimes six or seven, paddles rotating.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026

Finally they decided just to leave the paddles in the bottom of the boat and figure out what they were for as they went along.

From "The City of Ember" by Jeanne DuPrau

Ahmed said the waves were "quite small" when members of his group paddled with "their legs in the water".

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

Since dawn, he and around 20 colleagues have paddled along the riverbanks in their weathered wooden canoes.

From Barron's ● May 20, 2026

In 2002, a former math and science teacher and prison guard named John Darwin paddled a kayak into the North Sea from his home in Seaton Carew, England, and disappeared.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

We chose a tandem canoe and paddled our way up and down the river, watching the wildlife and soaking up the sun.

From Salon ● Jan. 13, 2026

Half an hour later, they paddled the canoes ashore to the right side of the river, away from the left side, where they believed Julio may have been hiding.

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

The accident took place near the iconic Steamer Lane surf break, described by Surfer Today as the heart and soul of Santa Cruz surfing where locals have been paddling out since the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Several private schools in Ohio and Virginia permit paddling as discipline even though those states outlaw corporal punishment in public schools.

From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026

Newman also said snapping turtles would be unlikely to bite humans paddling in the water, but would target mammals living there such as water voles.

From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026

“When you have great coverage, you can relax a little bit. That’s what it feels like now, there’s so many people paddling in the boat with me.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026

And then I’m paddling through the break, watching a big wave swelling, coming toward me, knowing that in a moment it will sweep me up into something enormous and powerful.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

Related Words

• drift
• navigate
• slop
• splash
• wade