- pad|dle
- pad|dle1 «PAD uhl», noun, verb, -dled, -dling.–n.1. a short oar with a broad blade at one end or both ends, used without an oarlock. Paddles are used especially to propel canoes and kayaks.2. the act of paddling; turn at the paddle: »
Each man had a paddle for an hour and then a rest.
3. a) one of the broad boards fixed around a water wheel or a paddle wheel to push, or be pushed by, the water: »Some tugs on rivers still have paddles.
b) = paddle wheel. (Cf. ↑paddle wheel)4. a paddle-shaped piece of wood used for stirring or for mixing: »The butter churn had two paddles to whip the cream.
5. an instrument or tool of this shape, used in various trades or industries, especially for stirring and mixing.6. a flipper or similar limb, such as that of a turtle, whale, or penguin.7. a small, flat wooden racket, faced with sandpaper or rubber, used to hit the ball in table or paddle tennis; racket.8. the signaling arm of a semaphore.9. Also, pettle. British. a small, long-handled, spadelike tool used for cleaning a plowshare, digging up thistles, etc.–v.t.1. to move (a canoe or boat) with a paddle or paddles: »The explorers paddled their canoe cautiously upstream.
2. to transport or convey, as in a canoe, by paddling: »She would herself paddle me off to the ship (Herman Melville).
3. to beat with a paddle; spank.–v.i.1. to use a paddle to move a canoe or boat through water: »Being fatigued with rowing, or paddling, as it is called (Daniel Defoe).
2. to row gently, so as barely to move through the water or simply to hold a boat steady against the current: »a rainbow shell That paddles in a halcyon sea (Christina G. Rossetti).
–pad´dler, noun.–pad´dle|like´, adjective.pad|dle2 «PAD uhl», intransitive verb, -dled, -dling.1. to move the hands or feet about in water; dabble or play in shallow water: »the children paddling in the mud puddle. Children love to paddle at the beach.
2. to toy with the fingers.3. to walk with short, unsteady steps, like those of a young child; toddle.╂[apparently related to pad2. Compare Low German paddlen tramp about < padden to tread, pad2.]–pad´dler, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
