How do you use the word "oar" in a sentence?

Here are real-life examples of using "oar": The rower blames his oar. He hung an old, wooden oar on his wall as a decoration.

Oar Meaning

/ɔː/

Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

Definition

nounA type of lever used to propel a boat, having a flat blade at one end and a handle at the other, and pivoted in a rowlock atop the gunwale, whereby a rower seated in the boat and pulling the handle can pass the blade through the water by repeated strokes against the water's resistance, thus moving the boat.

nounAn oarsman; a rower.

Sentence Examples

The rower blames his oar.

He hung an old, wooden oar on his wall as a decoration.

Should one use a pickaxe or an oar to mine ore?

CEFR Practice Quiz

To move the small boat forward, he grabbed a wooden ____ and dipped it into the water.

CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)

The rower accidentally dropped an ____ into the lake and had to use his hands to paddle.

Word Origin & History

From Middle English ore (“oar”), from Old English ār, from Proto-West Germanic *airu, from Proto-Germanic *airō (“oar”). Cognate with Old Norse ár.

Literary Quotations & Historical Citations

"The oar snaps in his hand Before he reaches dry land But the sound doesn't deafen his smile Just pokes at wet sand With an oar in his hand Floats off down the river Nile Floats off down the river Nile..." — 19 October 1979, Madness, “Night Boat to Cairo”, Suggs (lyrics):

"The weather was fine, and whilst oaring along I would fain have landed on the islands between; but fearful of a change, and already half worn-out by my previous trail, I let them go by with the comforting resolve of turning them up on some future occasion." — 1866, Thomas S. Muir, Barra Head, page 52:

"Turning the long tables upside down — and there were twelve of them — they seated themselves, one behind another, within the upturned table tops as though they were boats and were about to oar their way into some fabulous ocean." — 1950, Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, →OCLC:

"In Nopsca's theory, flight evolved as a means of running more quickly over the ground: "Birds originated from bipedal, long-tailed cursorial reptiles which during running oared along in the air by flapping their free anterior extremities."" — 1996, Peter J. Bowler, Life's Splendid Drama:

"HD HBO is generally not as good as Showtime HD. Showtime is leaving movies in the OAR (16X9), while HBO insists on butchering the movies to pan and scan. In addition, Showtime is broadcasting in 5.1 Dolby Digital surround...sounds amazing." — 2000 April 19, I Want My DTV!, “Re: Lastest^([sic]) info on HDD200 availabilty?”, in alt.video.satellite.4dtv (Usenet):

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