rowing

rowing — noun

1. a water sport or recreational activity in which people sit in a long, narrow boa

1.nounB1
Definition

a water sport or recreational activity in which people sit in a long, narrow boat and use oars — long poles with flat ends — to push the boat forward through the water

Example

João practices rowing every morning before sunrise on the river near his home.

The university rowing team won the national championship by a narrow lead last spring.

rowing team + championship (competitive sport context)

Common collocations
  • go rowing
  • take up rowing
  • rowing machine
  • rowing club
  • rowing team
  • competitive rowing
  • recreational rowing
  • indoor rowing
  • rowing race
  • rowing coach
  • rowing regatta
Synonyms
  • crew

    Used mainly in American English for the competitive team sport of rowing, especially at the college level

  • sculling

    A specific type of rowing in which each person uses two oars (one in each hand) rather than a single oar

Usage Note

Rowing is an uncountable noun, so it does not take an article in general statements (e.g., 'Rowing is good exercise,' not 'A rowing is good exercise'). The word 'crew' is often used as a synonym in American English, especially when referring to the competitive team sport.

Common Mistakes

I do rowing every weekend.
I go rowing every weekend.
'go + -ing' is the standard pattern for recreational sport activities.
Rowing is the same as canoeing because both use a boat.
Rowing uses oars fixed to the boat, while canoeing uses handheld paddles.
The equipment and technique are different.

Word family

  • row
    verbB1
  • rower
    nounB1
  • rowing machine
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Rowing is the broadest term, covering both competitive racing and recreational boat travel using oars. Crew is primarily used in American English to refer to the competitive team sport, especially at university level — 'He joined the crew team' sounds natural in the US but less so elsewhere. Sculling is a subset of rowing in which each rower handles two oars (one per hand), as opposed to sweep rowing where each person uses one oar. Sculling is also used for small single-person racing boats. Paddling is a different activity altogether: paddlers use handheld paddles (not oars fixed to the boat) and face the direction of travel, which is typical of canoeing and kayaking. In short, all sculling is rowing, but not all rowing is sculling, and paddling is a separate sport.

rowing ↗crew ↗scullingpaddling

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • go rowing
  • take up rowing
  • a session of rowing
  • rowing as a sport

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

The word 'rowing' comes from the verb 'row', which traces back to Old English 'rōwan' (to propel a boat with oars). This verb has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Old Norse 'róa' and Old High German 'ruochan'. The ultimate root is the Proto-Indo-European *ere-, meaning 'to row'. The '-ing' suffix was added to turn the verb into a noun that names the activity or sport itself.