kayak
Americannoun
-
a traditional Inuit or Yupik canoe with a skin cover on a light framework, made watertight by flexible closure around the waist of the occupant and propelled with a double-bladed paddle.
-
a small boat resembling this, made commercially of a variety of materials and used in sports.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a small light canoe-like boat used by the Inuit, consisting of a light frame covered with watertight animal skins
-
a fibreglass or canvas-covered canoe of similar design
Other Word Forms
- kayaker noun
Etymology
Origin of kayak
First recorded in 1750–60, kayak is from the Inuit word qayaq
Explanation
A kayak is a narrow one- or two-person boat that is propelled with a double-ended paddle. You can use a kayak in the ocean, on a pond or lake, or in a river. When you get in a kayak and start paddling around, you kayak (the verb). People who visit the beach often rent sea kayaks and kayak around the shore and between small islands. An even more adventurous way to kayak is in a whitewater kayak on a fast-moving river. Kayaks were first built and used by Inuits, Aleuts, and Yup'iks, and the word comes from the Inuit qayaq, "small boat of skins."
Vocabulary lists containing kayak
Scrabble: Palindrome Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 16–February 22, 2025
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Black Star, Bright Dawn
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Guests may choose to spend a full day block-printing and drawing, or take breaks to kayak or canoe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
Clinging to the capsized kayak, Austin - who swears he "saw something in the water" - realised he needed to do something.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026
But the waves soon grew, flipping their boards and filling their kayak with water as they were dragged further out into the ocean.
From Barron's • Feb. 3, 2026
Jung, who was a postdoctoral researcher in Werner's lab at the time, collected samples while traveling across the lake by kayak and bicycle.
From Science Daily • Jan. 10, 2026
Sometimes he helped people set nets; sometimes he scouted the ocean in his kayak as he searched for seal colonies.
From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
