paddle: Meaning and Definition of

pad•dle

Pronunciation: (pad'l), [key]
— n., v., -dled, -dling.
—n.
  1. a short, flat bladed oar for propelling and steering a canoe or small boat, usually held by both hands and moved more or less through a vertical arc.
  2. any of various similar implements used for mixing, stirring, or beating.
  3. any of various similar but smaller implements with a short handle for holding in one hand and a wide or rounded blade, used for a racket in table tennis, paddle tennis, etc.
  4. such an implement or a similarly shaped makeshift one, used to spank or beat someone.
  5. an implement used for beating garments while washing them in running water, as in a stream.
  6. Also calleda blade of a paddle wheel.
  7. See
  8. any of the blades by which a water wheel is turned.
  9. a flipper or limb of a penguin, turtle, whale, etc.
  10. an act of paddling.
  11. a small spade with a long handle, used to dig up thistles.
  12. (in a gate of a lock or sluice) a panel that slides to permit the passage of water.
—v.i.
  1. to propel or travel in a canoe or the like by using a paddle.
  2. to row lightly or gently with oars.
  3. to move by means of paddle wheels, as a steamer.
—v.t.
  1. to propel with a paddle: to paddle a canoe.
  2. to spank or beat with or as with a paddle.
  3. to stir, mix, or beat with or as with a paddle
  4. to convey by paddling, as a canoe.
  5. to hit (a table-tennis ball or the like) with a paddle.
  6. See(def. 3).

pad•dle

Pronunciation: (pad'l), [key]
— -dled, -dling.
  1. to move the feet or hands playfully in shallow water; dabble.
  2. to toy with the fingers.
  3. to toddle.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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