Definition of "paddle" []

• 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. (noun)
• Any of various implements resembling the paddle of a boat or canoe, as: (noun)
• An iron tool for stirring molten ore in a furnace. (noun)
• A tool with a shovellike blade used to mix materials in glassmaking. (noun)
• A potter's pallet. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Here there is a yawning gulf of misunderstanding between the aficionados, who insist on a precise distinction, and the thousands on the fringes who sloppily apply the term paddle tennis to both sports."
• "Attached to the paddle is a little box that provides power and instructions."
• "The paddle is implanted on the surface of the brain, on top of the motor control area."