How to Use oar in a Sentence

oar

noun
  • Our boat had oarlocks, but not oars.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 25 Jan. 2026
  • His left oar became wedged in the tangle of wood.
    — Emilee Coblentz, Outside, 11 Feb. 2026
  • In the boat, the oar blades smear and scrape the river like knives over cream cheese.
    — New York Times, 2 Jan. 2021
  • Both the home and road helmets have an oar right down the middle.
    — Tim Bielik, cleveland.com, 22 Feb. 2018
  • My father’s sleeves rolled up at the oars of the rowing boat.
    — Literary Hub, 12 May 2026
  • The oar is on one side of the gears and the handle on the other.
    — Randy Artruc, Popular Mechanics, 29 May 2019
  • Hands bleed and callous, muscles tear, oars can snap back and crack a rib.
    — Eric Andersson, Peoplemag, 24 Dec. 2023
  • Now as sailors stepped out into the surf, a great crowd tried to take oars off the first sloop.
    — Literary Hub, 28 Jan. 2026
  • Showing off her new pink cast, True held an oar in the air while her mom looked on.
    — Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023
  • But the shark only let go when frantic rescuers in a boat beat him with an oar.
    — Steve Hendrix, Washington Post, 31 May 2017
  • Sending them to school with no supplies is like buying them a boat with no oars.
    — Victoria Uwumarogie, Essence, 6 Aug. 2025
  • Take three strokes, then a fourth motion without dipping the oar.
    — John Branch Adam Stoltman, New York Times, 14 July 2023
  • Their narrow bodies and thready legs look like racers' shells and oars.
    — Lynn Levin, Scientific American, 15 Aug. 2023
  • At the end of each stroke, when the insect lifts these oars from the water, the fans snap shut.
    — Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Crabs that burrow or swim, such as blue crabs, might have flattened, oar-like pairs of hind legs.
    — National Geographic, 24 Apr. 2019
  • Her mother held it down with an oar while her father dispatched it with the swing of an ax.
    — James McWilliams, Outside Online, 10 June 2019
  • Pinkston coach Derek Lewis has a reason for having the oar out.
    — Rick Kretzschmar, Dallas News, 15 Sep. 2022
  • The Garv still needs an oar to handle those low and outside pitches.
    — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Jan. 2024
  • All vessels must be powered by the captain or crew with homemade oars.
    — Luann Gibbs, Cincinnati.com, 30 June 2019
  • Moll perches in the boat’s narrow stern and plies the oars while the rest of us sit up front and take in the view.
    — Bennett Hall, The Seattle Times, 8 Dec. 2017
  • There are only the sounds of shouts far across the water and now and then the echoed thunk of an oar on a boat hull.
    — Michael S. Hopkins, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 May 2020
  • The only noise is the dip-dip of oars and the ethereal screech of horseshoe bats.
    — Tristan Rutherford, Robb Report, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Many models provide a mount to add a trolling motor and adjustable seats and oar locks.
    — The Editors, Field & Stream, 3 Apr. 2020
  • Aside from a single oar found the following day, there was no sign of Wade.
    — Bjorn Dihle, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Instead of strengthening the oar, the tweak may have weakened its blade.
    — Kim O'Connell, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 July 2022
  • Understand, coxswains are considered the brain of the brawn that mans the oars.
    — David Whiting, Orange County Register, 24 May 2017
  • The key was in the off position, the gear was in neutral and the oars were fastened to the side.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2018
  • The oars are carved from Popsicle sticks from the canteen; the sail was snipped from a sheet.
    — Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2017
  • There was a motor on the boat but the migrants were using oars in an effort to make landfall.
    — Benjamin Oreskes, latimes.com, 11 June 2018
  • Once the media sticks its oar in, the real reason for the robbery emerges by degrees.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 31 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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