noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:AO1 R L AA2 K
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A usually U-shaped device attached to the gunwale of a rowboat to hold the oars in place while rowing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: nautical, transport
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rowlock
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: peg, pin, thole, tholepin, rowlock
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: holder
History
Etymology
From oar + lock.
Across languages
Translations
27 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
ключ
(ključ)
— device to hold oars in place
Catalan:
escalamera
— device to hold oars in place
Dutch:
dol
— device to hold oars in place
Faroese:
tollur
— device to hold oars in place
Finnish:
hankain
— device to hold oars in place
Finnish:
svirveli
— device to hold oars in place
French:
dame de nage
— device to hold oars in place
German:
Dolle
— device to hold oars in place
Hungarian:
evezővilla
— device to hold oars in place
Irish:
pionna iomartha
— device to hold oars in place
Italian:
scalmiera
— device to hold oars in place
Italian:
forcola
— device to hold oars in place
Latin:
scalmus
— device to hold oars in place
Māori:
rōraka
— device to hold oars in place
Norwegian Bokmål:
tollepinne
— device to hold oars in place
Norwegian Nynorsk:
tollepinne
— device to hold oars in place
Polish:
dulka
— device to hold oars in place
Portuguese:
forqueta
— device to hold oars in place
Romanian:
furchet
— device to hold oars in place
Serbo-Croatian:
со̀ха
— device to hold oars in place
Serbo-Croatian:
sòha
— device to hold oars in place
Spanish:
horquilla
— device to hold oars in place
Swedish:
årtull
— device to hold oars in place
Swedish:
årklyka
— device to hold oars in place
Swedish:
roddtull
— device to hold oars in place
Tagalog:
lulubungan
— device to hold oars in place
