kayak

[ kahy-ak ]
See synonyms for kayak on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. 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.

  2. a small boat resembling this, made commercially of a variety of materials and used in sports.

verb (used without object)
  1. to go or travel by kayak.

verb (used with object)
  1. to travel on by kayak: to kayak the Colorado River.

Origin of kayak

1
First recorded in 1750–60, kayak is from the Inuit word qayaq
  • Also kai·ak, ky·ack, ky·ak .

Other words from kayak

  • kay·ak·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kayak in a sentence

  • They claimed that two of the Gibson boys had tried to buy kayaks at a local store, and asked to get them on credit.

    Mel Gibson's Wild Kids | Nicole LaPorte | July 18, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Six of them immediately dropped into their kayaks and set off after him.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens
  • Like the kayaks, it was covered with seal-skin; or perhaps it might have been the hide of the walrus.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens
  • But they had nothing with them to trade off to us, save their kayaks, paddles, and harpoons.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens
  • Knock their old kayaks to pieces: that frightens them worst of any thing.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens
  • We danced, we capered, at the risk of our necks, among the slippery kayaks.

    Left on Labrador | Charles Asbury Stephens

British Dictionary definitions for kayak

kayak

kaiak

/ (ˈkaɪæk) /


noun
  1. a small light canoe-like boat used by the Inuit, consisting of a light frame covered with watertight animal skins

  2. a fibreglass or canvas-covered canoe of similar design

Origin of kayak

1
C18: from Inuktitut (Greenland dialect)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012