paddle
1 Americannoun
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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.
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any of various similar implements used for mixing, stirring, or beating.
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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.
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such an implement or a similarly shaped makeshift one, used to spank or beat someone.
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an implement used for beating garments while washing them in running water, as in a stream.
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Also called float, floatboard. a blade of a paddle wheel.
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any of the blades by which a water wheel is turned.
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a flipper or limb of a penguin, turtle, whale, etc.
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an act of paddling.
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British Dialect. Also pattle a small spade with a long handle, used to dig up thistles.
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(in a gate of a lock or sluice) a panel that slides to permit the passage of water.
verb (used without object)
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to propel or travel in a canoe or the like by using a paddle.
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to row lightly or gently with oars.
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to move by means of paddle wheels, as a steamer.
verb (used with object)
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to propel with a paddle.
to paddle a canoe.
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to spank or beat with or as with a paddle.
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to stir, mix, or beat with or as with a paddle
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to convey by paddling, as a canoe.
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to hit (a table-tennis ball or the like) with a paddle.
idioms
verb (used without object)
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to move the feet or hands playfully in shallow water; dabble.
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to toy with the fingers.
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to toddle.
noun
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a short light oar with a flat blade at one or both ends, used without a rowlock to propel a canoe or small boat
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Also called: float. a blade of a water wheel or paddle wheel
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a period of paddling
to go for a paddle upstream
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a paddle wheel used to propel a boat
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( as modifier )
a paddle steamer
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the sliding panel in a lock or sluicegate that regulates the level or flow of water
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any of various instruments shaped like a paddle and used for beating, mixing, etc
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a table-tennis bat
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the flattened limb of a seal, turtle, or similar aquatic animal, specialized for swimming
verb
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to propel (a canoe, small boat, etc) with a paddle
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to be self-sufficient
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to mind one's own business
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(tr) to convey by paddling
we paddled him to the shore
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(tr) to stir or mix with or as if with a paddle
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to row (a boat) steadily, esp (of a racing crew) to row firmly but not at full pressure
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(intr) (of steamships) to be propelled by paddle wheels
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(intr) to swim with short rapid strokes, like a dog
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informal (tr) to spank
verb
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to walk or play barefoot in shallow water, mud, etc
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to dabble the fingers, hands, or feet in water
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to walk unsteadily, like a baby
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archaic (tr) to fondle with the fingers
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing paddle
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:
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
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
"It's a paddle that is attached to the bottom of a metal rod and I've made a leg that I can walk into the water with and can actually swim," he explained.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
If the Labour Party is up the creek without a paddle after last week, to revert to Yank lingo, it also finds itself in an anomalous position.
From Salon ● May 10, 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
He has also designed boats, paddles and other waterproof products, and said he was curious about what materials had been used to paint the pool.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 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
Even the two paddles lying within it were marble.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
A few children splashed in the shallows as the surfers paddled out to sea, fighting the crashing waves.
From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 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
Exploiting a series of portages linking Lake Michigan and local rivers, they paddled their canoes from Canada’s Atlantic shore to the Gulf of Mexico and as far west as the Rocky Mountains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Boaters paddled through churning rapids, gliding past boulders and crashing through breaking waves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2025
Then he shook his tail feathers and paddled his feet and set out on his very first swim.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
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
Beneath the surface, though, investors are paddling furiously to navigate shifting financial currents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
While Arlo loves running around his little jungle, they made sure there is still space for his paddling pool at the bottom of the garden.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
The five survivors were now growing well and had been swimming in a paddling pool, he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
Despite Kermit’s painfully sore arms from the quinine injections, he took over paddling one of the canoes because most of the camaradas were too sick to work.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
