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n. 1. An implement with a flat blade at one or both ends, held in the hands without an oarlock and passed through the water to propel a small boat such as a canoe. 2. Any of various implements resembling the paddle of a boat or canoe, as: a. Sports A light wooden or plastic racket used in playing table tennis, platform tennis, and similar games. b. A flat board with a handle used to administer physical punishment. c. A blade or shovellike implement used for stirring or mixing. 3. Medicine A flat electrode that is part of a defibrillator and is put on a patient's chest to deliver an electric shock to the heart. 4. A board on a paddle wheel. 5. A flipper or flattened appendage of certain animals. 7. The act of paddling. v. pad·dled, pad·dling, pad·dles v.intr. 1. Nautical a. To propel a watercraft with paddles or a paddle. b. To row slowly and gently. 2. To move through water by means of repeated short strokes of the limbs. v.tr. 1. Nautical a. To propel (a watercraft) with paddles or a paddle. b. To convey in a watercraft propelled by paddles. 2. To spank or beat with a paddle, especially as a punishment. 3. To stir or shape (material) with a paddle. [Middle English padell, spadelike tool used to clean plowshares, hoe; perhaps akin to spatyl, spatula, from Old French spatule, from Latin spatula, flat piece of wood; see SPATULA.] paddler n.  (click for a larger image) paddle1left to right: paddleball, canoe, and kayak paddles |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
intr.v. pad·dled, pad·dling, pad·dles 1. To dabble about in shallow water; splash gently with the hands or feet. 2. To move with a waddling motion; toddle. [Perhaps of Low German origin.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
