umiak

noun

umi·​ak ˈü-mē-ˌak How to pronounce umiak (audio)
plural umiaks
: an open boat made of a wooden frame covered with hide used especially by indigenous peoples of arctic Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and eastern Siberia

Illustration of umiak

Illustration of umiak

Examples of umiak in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Instead, guardsmen showed up in umiaks with small outboard motors. Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Mar. 2023 The kayak might be fun to us, but for Inuit it, and the big open umiak hunting boat, meant food or hunger, life or death. John Oseid, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'umiak.' 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

Inuit umiaq

First Known Use

1769, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of umiak was in 1769

Dictionary Entries Near umiak

Cite this Entry

“Umiak.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/umiak. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

umiak

noun
umi·​ak ˈü-mē-ˌak How to pronounce umiak (audio)
: a small open boat used especially by Indigenous peoples of arctic Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and eastern Siberia.

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