oar

He recalled being thrown "a metre-and-a-half into the air", along with his rowing partner, when the blade of their oar hit a wave head-on.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

According to World Rowing, the earliest representation of a rowing boat was found in Finland and dated back to 5,800BC, while the oar was "considered to be the most important invention before the wheel".

From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2026

Slap the water with your paddle, oar or hand.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

With sculling, each rower holds an oar in each hand; with sweep rowing, each rower holds one oar with both hands.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2023

She jammed an oar into the bank to push us off.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

With its tar-soaked rigging, creaking oak deck and 50 spruce oars, Draken Harald Harfagre is the largest modern replica of a Viking ship.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

Bury got into a kayak but there were no oars nearby to help him paddle, he told the station.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Umpire Matthew Pinsent stopped the race in the second minute after the Oxford boat drifted into Cambridge's path and their oars clashed.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025

Men and women plunged into the sea behind them, grabbing at the ships’ oars.

From Slate ● Dec. 15, 2024

The Argo II veered left, its aerial oars slashing through the clouds like rows of knives.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

A young man on a standup paddleboard oared in as Mr. Carew spoke, the breeze blowing him to shore.

From New York Times ● May 22, 2015

Other rock art found at the site include carvings depicting oared ships, daggers and spirals – all still discernible despite exposure to the erosive effects of wind and sea.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 6, 2014

Its first scene depicted a group of bearded Greeks on an oared galley, rowing through dark waters.

From Time ● Mar. 19, 2014

In Denmark he oared a Viking longship and tracked down a genetic cousin who shared his interest in maths and running marathons.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 23, 2013

Easy as a gull oared by her wings the ship went now, and the noise and hurlyburly of the City fell away suddenly behind.

From "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin

One day, as the Eight begin oaring down the river, he buzzes alongside them like a particularly persistent gnat, detailing the flaws in each woman's stroke, moving from bow to stern.

From Time Magazine Archive

So he went down under his root again, hugging himself upon his wisdom, never moving a fin, but oaring and helming his plump, spotted sides with his tail.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 5 by Hamilton Wright Mabie

Still the old trout, calmly oaring, looked at them both suspiciously.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern — Volume 5 by Hamilton Wright Mabie

A bloody fool I was all yesterday, an' oaring with my picture-frame.

From The Entailed Hat Or, Patty Cannon's Times by George Alfred Townsend

Their children, scattered about in schools, convents, and colleges, will find the home of their affections elsewhere, or rather they will form the habit of oaring for nothing.

From Emile by Jean-Jacques Rousseau