51Թ

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paddle

1

[ pad-l ]

noun

  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. any of the blades by which a water wheel is turned.
  8. a flipper or limb of a penguin, turtle, whale, etc.
  9. an act of paddling.
  10. Also 貹·ٱ []. British Dialect. a small spade with a long handle, used to dig up thistles.
  11. (in a gate of a lock or sluice) a panel that slides to permit the passage of water.


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.

paddle

2

[ pad-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.

paddle

1

/ ˈæə /

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 calledfloat a blade of a water wheel or paddle wheel
  3. a period of paddling

    to go for a paddle upstream

    1. a paddle wheel used to propel a boat
    2. ( as modifier )

      a paddle steamer

  4. the sliding panel in a lock or sluicegate that regulates the level or flow of water
  5. any of various instruments shaped like a paddle and used for beating, mixing, etc
  6. a table-tennis bat
  7. the flattened limb of a seal, turtle, or similar aquatic animal, specialized for swimming
“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

verb

  1. to propel (a canoe, small boat, etc) with a paddle
  2. paddle one's own canoe
    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
“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

paddle

2

/ ˈæə /

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
“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

noun

  1. the act of paddling in water
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈ貹, noun
  • ˈ貹, noun
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Other 51Թ Forms

  • 貹d noun
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51Թ History and Origins

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”
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51Թ History and Origins

Origin of paddle1

C15: of unknown origin

Origin of paddle2

C16: of uncertain origin
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Idioms and Phrases

  1. paddle one's own canoe. canoe ( def 6 ).

More idioms and phrases containing paddle

In addition to the idiom beginning with paddle , also see up the creek (without a paddle) .
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"Apparently she was paddling, so her socks and shoes were off, her coat, then she must have slipped and gone down," she added.

From

He said on Facebook that as he paddled away terrified, the sea lion continued to stalk him.

From

The attack happened between 17:20 and 17:45 GMT, while Ms Smith's three dogs were "playing, splashing about, paddling in the water".

From

The Venezuelan kayaker had been paddling through the Strait of Magellan, off Chile's Patagonian coast, with his father when he felt something "hit me from behind, closing in on me and sinking me".

From

Gone was the wall that held Rogers’ Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity paddles.

From

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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.

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