oars

American

[awrz, ohrz] / ɔrz, oʊrz /

interjection

Nautical.

(used as a command to the crew of a scull or other similar boat to cease rowing and hold the oars horizontal with blades feathered.)

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.

"We lost oars, and we drifted out further.... It kind of all went wrong very, very quickly."

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026

Egyptian and Japanese archeologists have been treating the boat's planks and oars using organic materials, including nano-cellulose and Klucel E, that Zidan said met international restoration standards.

From Barron's • Dec. 23, 2025

Men and women plunged into the sea behind them, grabbing at the ships’ oars.

From Slate • Dec. 15, 2024

Unlike the prestigious Ivy League squads, the Huskies were mostly middle and working class landlubbers who’d only taken up oars to pay for school.

From New York Times • Dec. 24, 2023

There are lots of redbrick buildings, and a funny red tower, with red flapping oars at the top.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023