Oarlock

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A usually U-shaped device attached to the gunwale of a rowboat to hold the oars in place while rowing.

    "But, as luck would have it, scarcely had he started to row his boat again when an oarlock broke, and so it took him the best part of an hour to make the trip."

  2. 2
    a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
rowlockarboraxisbearingfulcrumgudgeon

Example

More examples

"The oar fell out of its oarlock."

Etymology

From oar + lock.

More for "oarlock"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.