small and light boat; pointed at both ends; propelled with a paddle
"The group paddled their lightweight canoe across the calm lake, its sharp bow cutting through the water."
A small long and narrow boat, propelled by one or more people (depending on the size of canoe), using single-bladed paddles. The paddlers face in the direction of travel, in either a seated position, or kneeling on the bottom of the boat. Canoes are open on top, and pointed at both ends.
"The group set off down the calm river in their lightweight canoe, where everyone knelt facing forward to propel the vessel with single-bladed paddles."
In plain English: A canoe is an open, narrow boat that you paddle with a single-bladed oar to move through water.
"We rented a small canoe to paddle across the calm lake on our summer vacation."
Usage: Use "canoe" to refer specifically to a narrow watercraft powered by double-bladed paddles where riders sit facing forward, distinguishing it from kayaks which use single blades and often have the rider kneeling or sitting with legs in front. When used as a verb, ensure you are describing the act of propelling this specific type of boat rather than any small vessel.
To ride or paddle a canoe.
"They set off early in the morning to canoe down the winding river."
In plain English: To canoe means to travel by paddling a small, narrow boat with your hands.
"We paddled our canoe down the calm river."
The word "canoe" was adopted in the 16th century from Spanish cano, which came from the Taíno language. In its original form, it meant a dugout boat.