paddling

paddling is the present participle and gerund of paddle.

Noun

paddling (plural paddlings)

The act of using a paddle.
An act of corporal punishment consisting of spanking the buttocks with a paddle.
(collective) A group of ducks (mallards, etc.) on the water.
- Having detected, by sound, a fine paddling of ducks feeding in a small bay, the shore of which was skirted by a thick copse, to the shade of the latter I proceeded in my punt.1859, Henry Coleman FOLKARD, The Wild-Fowler: a Treatise on Ancient and Modern Wild-Fowling, Historical and Practical, page 233
- —some of the words were caught and torn away on a gust of wind which stirred the osier beds and ruffled among paddlings of ducks2010, Margaret Campbell Barnes, Within the Hollow Crown: A Valiant King's Struggle to Save His Country, His Dynasty, and His Love, Sourcebooks, page 33

paddle (third-person singular simple present paddles, present participle paddling, simple past and past participle paddled)

(transitive) To propel something through water with a paddle, oar, hands, etc.
- as the Men were Paddling for their Lives1692, Roger L’Estrange, “ (please specify the fable number.) (please specify the name of the fable.)”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC
(intransitive) To row a boat with less than one's full capacity.
(transitive) To spank with a paddle.
- Do you think we'll get paddled? They can't paddle me! I'm a girl!!1986 January 15, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic)
To pat or stroke amorously or gently.
- to be paddling palms and pinching fingers.c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
To tread upon; to trample.

paddle (third-person singular simple present paddles, present participle paddling, simple past and past participle paddled)

(UK, intransitive) To walk or dabble playfully in shallow water, especially at the seaside.

plural	paddlings

From paddle + -ing.

From Middle English padelynge, equivalent to paddle + -ing.

What does paddling mean?: Paddling means the act of using a paddle.
What is paddling the present participle and gerund of?: Paddling is the present participle and gerund of paddle.
What part of speech is paddling?: Paddling is a noun.
What is the plural of paddling?: The plural of paddling is paddlings.

Adapted from Wiktionary: paddling (page history and authors); paddle (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “paddling.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/paddling. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.