pair-oar

American

[pair-awr, -ohr] / ˈpɛərˌɔr, -ˌoʊr /

noun

a racing shell propelled by two persons, each with one oar.

pair-oar British

noun

Also called: pair. rowing a racing shell in which two oarsmen sit one behind the other and pull one oar each Compare double scull

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

pair-oared

adjective

Etymology

Origin of pair-oar

First recorded in 1850–55

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.

Sculling and pair-oar practice tend to teach watermanship.

From Boating by Woodgate, W. B.

Instead of going up the river in a pair-oar or a four, he now went up in a sculling boat or a canoe, and seemed to enjoy himself quite as much.

From The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's A School Story by Reed, Talbot Baines

More than one master of oarsmanship has declared that good pair-oar rowing is the acme of oarsmanship.

From Boating by Woodgate, W. B.

A four-oar costs 35l. to 40l.; a pair-oar 20l. to 25l.; and a sculling boat 12l.

From Boating by Woodgate, W. B.

The boat house was deserted, but out in mid-stream was a pair-oar and a rowboat, the latter well filled.

From The Crimson Sweater by Barbour, Ralph Henry

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023