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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

row.

A line of objects, often regularly spaced, such as seats in a theatre, vegetable plants in a garden, etc.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɹəʊ/Received-Pronunciation/ɹoʊ/US/ɾo/Scotland/ɾou/Wales
  1. A line of objects, often regularly spaced, such as seats in a theatre, vegetable plants in a garden, etc.

  2. A line of objects, often regularly spaced, such as seats in a theatre, vegetable plants in a garden, etc. Specifically, a line of buildings on a street; also, the street itself (especially in street names)

  3. A horizontal line of entries in a table, etc., going from left to right, as opposed to a column going from top to bottom.

  4. Clipping of cornrow.

    abbreviation · alt-of · clipping · in-plural · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *Hreyk- Proto-Indo-European *-ō Proto-Indo-European *Hréykō Proto-Germanic *rīgǭder. Proto-Germanic *raigwō Proto-Germanic *raiwō Proto-West Germanic *raiwu Old English rǣw Middle English rewe English row From Middle English rewe, rowe, rawe, from Old English rǣw, rāw, probably from Proto-Germanic *raiwō, *raigwō, *rīgǭ (“row, streak, line”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreyk- (“to carve, scratch, etch”). Cognate with Scots raw (“row”), dialectal Norwegian rå (“boundary line”), Saterland Frisian Riege (“row”), West Frisian rige (“row”), Dutch rij (“row, line”), German Low German Reeg, Riege, Rieg (“row”), German Reihe (“row”), German Riege (“sports team”).

verb
  1. To propel (a boat or other craft) over water using oars.

    intransitive · transitive
  2. To transport in a boat propelled with oars.

    transitive
    to row the captain ashore in his barge
  3. To be moved by oars.

    intransitive
    The boat rows easily.
Where this word comes from

From Middle English rowen (“to row”), from Old English rōwan (“to row”), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną (“to row”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”). Compare West Frisian roeie, Dutch roeien, Danish ro. More at rudder. Related to Russia.

noun
  1. An act or instance of rowing.

    I went for an early-morning row.
  2. Any of several thematically similar exercise movements performed with a pulling motion of the arms towards the back.

Where this word comes from

From Middle English rowen (“to row”), from Old English rōwan (“to row”), from Proto-Germanic *rōaną (“to row”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁- (“to row”). Compare West Frisian roeie, Dutch roeien, Danish ro. More at rudder. Related to Russia.

noun/ɹaʊ/
  1. A noisy argument.

    UK
    There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
  2. A continual loud noise.

    UK
    Who's making that row?
Where this word comes from

Unclear; some suggest it is a back-formation from rouse, verb.

verb/ɹaʊ/
  1. To argue noisily.

    intransitive
Where this word comes from

Unclear; some suggest it is a back-formation from rouse, verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.