oar

1 of 2

noun

1
: a long pole with a broad blade at one end used for propelling or steering a boat
2
oared adjective

oar

2 of 2

verb

oared; oaring; oars

intransitive verb

: to progress by or as if by using oars

transitive verb

: to propel with or as if with oars : row

Examples of oar in a Sentence

Noun “All oars ho!” the boatswain ordered Verb since the wind had completely died, they had to oar the sailboat back to shore
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Idaho River Sports offers daily rentals of rafts and oars, starting at $55 per day. Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Flynn would like to be on the oars herself for this, but has bestowed the honor of first run to DeHoff. Cassidy Randall, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2024 Consuelos holds up his oar in the background while Ripa waves to the camera. Charna Flam, Peoplemag, 13 Feb. 2024 The Garv still needs an oar to handle those low and outside pitches. Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2024 Unlike the prestigious Ivy League squads, the Huskies were mostly middle and working class landlubbers who’d only taken up oars to pay for school. Amy Nicholson, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2023 The characters’ gumption lies not in big movie gestures but in steadiness during desperately uncertain times, one oar stroke after another. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Dec. 2023 As the Great Depression continued its stranglehold on the U.S. in the 1930s, nine University of Washington students — who’d never held an oar — joined the school’s junior varsity crew team. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 24 Dec. 2023 Hands bleed and callous, muscles tear, oars can snap back and crack a rib. Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 24 Dec. 2023
Verb
Mute swans do put on bursts of speed by oaring with their huge webbed feet. National Geographic, 19 Oct. 2016

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English oore, ore, going back to Old English ār, going back to dialectal Germanic *airō (whence Old Norse ár "oar"), of uncertain origin

Note: The presumed etymon *airō is attested only in Scandinavian Germanic and Old English; it is apparently a loanword from Scandinavian into Finnic languages (North Saami áiru "oar," Finnish airo, Estonian aer). The Germanic word has been compared with Greek oíāx "handle of a rudder, tiller" oiḗïon "tiller, rudder," Homeric oíēkes "appurtenance on a yoke," Sanskrit īṣā́ "shaft, thill," Hittite hišša-, Czech oj, Slovene ojệ, ojệsa, all going back to Indo-European *h2(o)iH-s- "pole, shaft" (with the meaning "rudder" apparently secondary in Greek). However, if *airō goes back to *aizō the expected Old Norse outcome would be *eir rather than ār; additionally, the sense shift from "shaft of a cart" to "oar" is not unobjectionable.

Verb

Middle English oren, derivative of ore oar entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of oar was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near oar

Cite this Entry

“Oar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oar. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

oar

1 of 2 noun
ˈō(ə)r How to pronounce oar (audio)
ˈȯ(ə)r
1
: a long pole with a broad blade at one end used for rowing or steering a boat
2
oared
ˈō(ə)rd How to pronounce oar (audio)
ˈȯ(ə)rd
adjective

oar

2 of 2 verb

More from Merriam-Webster on oar

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