Rowlock
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A usually U-shaped pivot attached to the gunwale (outrigger in a sport boat) of a boat that supports and guides an oar, and provides a fulcrum for rowing; an oarlock. British
"I took a good gap and a stretch, and was just going to unhitch and start when I heard a sound away over the water. I listened. Pretty soon I made it out. It was that dull kind of a regular sound that comes from oars working in rowlocks when it's a still night."
- 2 a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing wordnet
- 3 A brick, for example in a course of brickwork, that is laid vertically with its tallest but slimmest side facing down, and its shortest face facing the outside of the wall (oriented so that it is taller than it is wide).
Example
More examples"I took a good gap and a stretch, and was just going to unhitch and start when I heard a sound away over the water. I listened. Pretty soon I made it out. It was that dull kind of a regular sound that comes from oars working in rowlocks when it's a still night."
Etymology
An alteration, based on row, of earlier oarlock, from Old English ārlōc, equivalent to oar + lock.
More for "rowlock"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.