paddle āļāļ·āļāļāļ°āđāļĢ paddle āļāļ·āļāļāļ°āđāļĢ A usually wooden implement having a blade at one end or sometimes at both ends, used without an oarlock to propel a canoe or small boat.Any of various implements resembling the paddle of a boat or canoe, as:An iron tool for stirring molten ore in a furnace. A tool with a shovellike blade used to mix materials in glassmaking.A potter's pallet.A narrow board used to beat clothes when laundering by hand.A flattened board used to administer physical punishment.Sports A light wooden or plastic racket used in playing table tennis, platform tennis, and similar games.A board on a paddle wheel.A flipper or flattened appendage of certain animals.Botany See pad1.The act of paddling.Nautical To propel a watercraft with paddles or a paddle.Nautical To row slowly and gently.To move through water by means of repeated short strokes of the limbs.Nautical To propel (a watercraft) with paddles or a paddle.Nautical To convey in a watercraft propelled by paddles.To spank or beat with a paddle, especially as a punishment.To stir or shape (material) with a paddle.To dabble about in shallow water; splash gently with the hands or feet.To move with a waddling motion; toddle.