row

¹ American  

[roh] / roʊ /

noun

1. a number of persons or things arranged in a line, especially a straight line.

   a row of apple trees.

2. a line of persons or things so arranged.

   The petitioners waited in a row.

3. a line of adjacent seats facing the same way, as in a theater.

   seats in the third row of the balcony.

4. a street formed by two continuous lines of buildings.

5. Music. tone row.

6. Checkers. one of the horizontal lines of squares on a checkerboard; rank.

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verb (used with object)

1. to put in a row (often followed byup ).

idioms

1. hard / long row to hoe, a difficult task or set of circumstances to confront.

   At 32 and with two children, she found attending medical school a hard row to hoe.

row ² American  

[roh] / roʊ /

verb (used without object)

1. to propel a vessel by the leverage of an oar or the like.

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verb (used with object)

1. to propel (a vessel) by the leverage of an oar or the like.

2. to convey in a boat that is rowed.

3. to convey or propel (something) in a manner suggestive of rowing.

4. to require, use, or be equipped with (a number of oars).

   The captain's barge rowed twenty oars.

5. to use (oarsmen) for rowing.

6. to perform or participate in by rowing.

   to row a race.

7. to row against in a race.

   Oxford rows Cambridge.

noun

1. an act, instance, or period of rowing.

   It was a long row to the far bank.

2. an excursion in a rowboat.

   to go for a row.

row ³ American  

[rou] / raʊ /

noun

1. a noisy dispute or quarrel; commotion.

   Synonyms:

   set-to, scrape, scrap, tiff, spat

2. noise or clamor.

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verb (used without object)

1. to quarrel noisily.

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly British. to upbraid severely; scold.

row ¹ British  

/ rəʊ /

noun

1. an arrangement of persons or things in a line

   a row of chairs

2. 1. a street, esp a narrow one lined with identical houses

   2. ( capital when part of a street name )

      Church Row

3. a line of seats, as in a cinema, theatre, etc

4. maths a horizontal linear arrangement of numbers, quantities, or terms, esp in a determinant or matrix

5. a horizontal rank of squares on a chessboard or draughtboard

6. in succession; one after the other

   he won two gold medals in a row

7. a difficult task or assignment

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row ² British  

/ rəʊ /

verb

1. to propel (a boat) by using oars

2. (tr) to carry (people, goods, etc) in a rowing boat

3. to be propelled by means of (oars or oarsmen)

4. (intr) to take part in the racing of rowing boats as a sport, esp in eights, in which each member of the crew pulls one oar Compare scull

5. (tr) to race against in a boat propelled by oars

   Oxford row Cambridge every year

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noun

1. an act, instance, period, or distance of rowing

2. an excursion in a rowing boat

row ³ British  

/ raʊ /

noun

1. a noisy quarrel or dispute

2. a noisy disturbance; commotion

   we couldn't hear the music for the row next door

3. a reprimand

4. informal to scold someone; tell someone off

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verb

1. to quarrel noisily

2. archaic (tr) to reprimand

row More Idioms  

1. see get one's ducks in a row; kick up a fuss (row); skid row; tough row to hoe.

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Other Word Forms

• rowable adjective
• rower noun
• rowing noun
• underrower noun

Etymology

Origin of row¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English reue, reuwe, rou(e) “row, line, rank (line of soldiers),” Old English rǣw, rāw; akin to Middle Dutch rije, Middle High German rīhe, German Reihe “row”

Origin of row²

First recorded before 950; Middle English rouen, rouwen, Old English rōwan “to go by water, sail, row”; cognate with Old Norse rōa; akin to Latin rēmus, Greek eretmón, both meaning “oar”; rudder

Origin of row³

First recorded in 1740–50; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

For weeks, China and Japan have been engaged in a diplomatic row over the former's claim on self-governed Taiwan, which puts Seoul, a key regional power, in an awkward spot.

From BBC

She tries to find an empty row of seats or, if it is full, a window seat so she has something to lean on.

From The Wall Street Journal

Allen has started 121 consecutive games for the Bills, 134 in a row including playoff contests, and that streak looks set to continue even as another looks set to end.

From Barron's

Nottingham Forest did not have a very good Christmas, losing three games in a row.

From BBC

In the nine instances when the index is up at least 10% three years in a row, the average move the following year is only a 4.6% rise, according to Evercore ISI.

From Barron's

Related Words

• controversy
• dispute
• quarrel
• squabble
• trouble