paddle1

noun

• a short pole with a broad blade at one or both ends, used without an oarlock to move a small boat or canoe through the water.
• an act of using a paddle in a boat:a gentle paddle on sluggish water
• North American a short-handled bat used in various ball games, especially table tennis.
• a paddle-shaped instrument used for mixing food or for stirring or mixing in industrial processes.
• another term for peel².
• North American informal a paddle-shaped instrument used for administering corporal punishment.
• each of the boards fitted around the circumference of a paddle wheel or mill wheel.
• a flat array of solar cells projecting from a spacecraft.
• the fin or flipper of an aquatic mammal or bird.
• Medicine a plastic-covered electrode used in cardiac stimulation.
• short for bidding paddle.

verb

• 1 [no object] move through the water in a boat using a paddle or paddles:he paddled along the coast
• [with object] propel (a small boat or canoe) with a paddle or paddles:he was teaching trainees to paddle canoes
• [with object] travel along (a stretch of water) by paddling:I had paddled the river through other hot July spells
• (of a bird or other animal) swim with short fast strokes:the swan paddled away

• 2 [with object] informal, chiefly North American beat (someone) with a paddle as a punishment:he was firm in his conviction that his children would never be paddled