oarlock

nounC2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speechToo rare in one of the two pools to compare — fewer than 20 uses in speech or in writing

Other forms: oarlocks

An oarlock is the fitting an oar pivots in. Lose an oarlock.

Without it an oar has nothing to push against and the boat goes nowhere. An oarlock is the British rowlock, and the American spelling shows what it does more plainly.

Definitions of oarlock

1nounoarlockThe fitting an oar pivots in.C2
“One oarlock dropped over the side and that was the end of it.”

oarlock is a fitting.

Where it comes from

Oar plus lock. The older English form is rowlock, which is a worn-down version of the same compound and is pronounced rollock.

From oar + lock.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

← Vocabulary

oarlock

Other forms: oarlocks

An oarlock is the fitting an oar pivots in. Lose an oarlock.

Without it an oar has nothing to push against and the boat goes nowhere. An oarlock is the British rowlock, and the American spelling shows what it does more plainly.

Definitions of oarlock

1nounoarlockThe fitting an oar pivots in.C2
“One oarlock dropped over the side and that was the end of it.”

oarlock is a fitting.

Where it comes from

Oar plus lock. The older English form is rowlock, which is a worn-down version of the same compound and is pronounced rollock.

From oar + lock.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA