row
Pluralrows
Pluralrows
- 1A line of people or things side by side, such as seats or plants, including a horizontal line of entries in a table.
The orchard was laid out in long, straight rows of apple trees.
Our seats were in the last row, right against the back wall.
UsageThings stand in rows; in a row can also mean one after another: three wins in a row.
Note
Three unrelated words share this spelling; the rowing verb and the quarrel come from elsewhere. Windows, seats and lights all stand in rows: the King James Bible of 1611 has "windows in three rows," and Milton's "in burning row" drops the article, as poets may.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikisource.org
- The King James Bible contains “windows in three rows.” en.wikisource.org
- Milton wrote “in burning row,” without an article before “burning row.” gutenberg.org
- 2To move a boat through the water using oars, or to carry someone or something in a boat moved this way.
Like pushing the water backward with each stroke to send yourself forward.
Volunteers row the rescue boat out whenever swimmers get into trouble.
They row steadily across the bay before sunrise.
Similarscull
Note
A boating verb from Old English rōwan, and a cousin of rudder. Rudder goes back to Old English rōþor, which meant an oar as well as a rudder. Paddle is its near synonym, but row keeps the oar at the center of the meaning, which is why it is the word for oared craft.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The boating verb row derives from Old English rōwan. en.wiktionary.org
- Row and rudder are etymologically related. en.wiktionary.org
- Rudder derives from Old English rōþor, meaning both oar and rudder. en.wiktionary.org
- 3An act or instance of rowing a boat.
They enjoyed a leisurely row along the canal.
After a quick row to the island, they set up camp.
Similarpaddle
- 4ROW/ɹaʊ/A noisy argument or quarrel.
A blazing row erupted between the brothers at dinner.
The couple had a terrible row and didn't speak for days.
Similarargument, fight, quarrel, disturbance, fracas
Note
The quarrel word has an unclear origin; one suggestion is a back-formation from rouse. It shares only its spelling with the boating verb, which makes "a row among the oarsmen about how to row" a ready joke. In Wodehouse's The Inimitable Jeeves (1923), Bertie Wooster remarks that as a rule he is not "lugged into Family Rows," a sign of how comfortably the word settles into domestic comedy.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- The origin of row meaning a quarrel is unclear, with back-formation from rouse suggested. en.wiktionary.org
- The quarrel noun and boating verb are distinct homographs. en.wiktionary.org
- P. G. Wodehouse wrote The Inimitable Jeeves. gutenberg.org
- The Inimitable Jeeves was first published in 1923. en.wikipedia.org
- Bertie Wooster narrates that he is generally not 'lugged into Family Rows'; the quoted wording is exact. gutenberg.org
- 5Any of several exercise movements done by pulling the arms back toward the body.
The trainer demonstrated a barbell row with perfect form.
Her back workout always ends with four sets of heavy dumbbell rows.
Note
A gym name borrowed from the boat. Pulling the arms toward the back is the oar stroke without the water, so the exercise takes its name from rowing, not from the "line" word.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The exercise noun belongs to the boating word's etymology, rather than the separate etymology of row meaning a line; Wiktionary places it under Etymology 2 with the boating senses. en.wiktionary.org
- The exercise movement resembles rowing a boat. en.wikipedia.org
Less common meanings
- 6ROW/ɹaʊ/To quarrel or argue noisily.
Couples who row in public often regret it later.
They rowed bitterly over the will for months.
UsageRow with someone, row over or about something. Rhymes with now.
Note
The quarrel also works as a verb. Spoken aloud, it rhymes with cow while the boating verb rhymes with go, but in writing "they rowed all night" could mean either, so the surrounding words have to make clear whether oars or tempers are involved.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Row can mean to quarrel as a verb. en.wiktionary.org
- The quarrelling sense rhymes with cow. en.wiktionary.org
- The boating sense rhymes with go. en.wiktionary.org
- Both verbs have the past tense rowed, making the written example ambiguous without context. en.wiktionary.org
- 7ROW/ɹaʊ/A continual loud noise.
The row from the festival carried across the whole town.
We could hardly hear each other over the row from the construction site next door.
UsageThe usual verb is make: make a row. Close to din and racket.
Note
Noise with the argument taken out. Here no one has to be at odds, and the word sits beside din and racket. The usual verb is make, as in "Who's making that row?" That question complains about the sound, while the quarrel sense needs at least two people disagreeing.
- 8Short for cornrow: one of the tight braids lying flat against the scalp in a cornrow hairstyle.
The row closest to her ear was braided so tight it gave her a headache.
She's getting her rows redone this weekend because they've started to look fuzzy.
Note
A slang clipping used mostly in the plural: you keep your rows fresh, or leave the braider's with your rows looking tight. In writing, the dropped syllable is often marked with an apostrophe, as in Noire's Thug-A-Licious (2006): "my 'rows looking tight." The full word names a hairstyle of African origin and also works as a verb for braiding it. The short form stays a noun.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- The slang noun row is a clipping of cornrow. en.wiktionary.org
- Noire wrote Thug-A-Licious. penguinrandomhouse.com
- Thug-A-Licious was first published in 2006. penguinrandomhouse.com
- The book contains the quoted wording, including the apostrophe before rows. en.wiktionary.org
- The cornrow hairstyle originated in Africa. en.wiktionary.org
- 9A street with an unbroken line of houses or other buildings along it, or the line of buildings itself; often part of a street's name.
Their apartment is on Chandler's Row, a few blocks from the waterfront.
Gallery owners have turned the old warehouse row into the city's arts district.
UsageIn names it is capitalized like Street: Chandler's Row.
Note
The street grew out of the plain line of things: Old English rāw meant a row or line, and houses built wall to wall form exactly that line along a road. It has nothing to do with the noisy argument, which is a separate word of unclear origin.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The street sense is a specialization of row meaning a line of things. en.wiktionary.org
- The noisy-argument word has a separate, unclear origin. en.wiktionary.org
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From Middle English rewe, from Old English rǣw or rāw, probably from Proto-Germanic *raiwō ("row, streak, line") and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to carve or scratch." It is related to Dutch rij and German Reihe, both meaning "row."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Row comes through Middle English rewe from Old English rǣw or rāw. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old English word probably derives from Proto-Germanic *raiwō, meaning row, streak or line. en.wiktionary.org
- The proposed ultimate origin is a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to carve or scratch. en.wiktionary.org
- Dutch rij and German Reihe are cognates of row, and both mean row. en.wiktionary.org
From Middle English rowen ("to row"), from Old English rōwan, from Proto-Germanic *rōaną and a Proto-Indo-European root *h₁reh₁- ("to row"). It is related to West Frisian roeie, Dutch roeien, and Danish ro.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- The verb row comes from Middle English rowen, meaning to row. en.wiktionary.org
- Middle English rowen comes from Old English rōwan. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English rōwan descends from reconstructed Proto-Germanic *rōaną. en.wiktionary.org
- The word ultimately derives from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European root *h₁reh₁-, meaning to row. en.wiktionary.org
- English row is related to West Frisian roeie, Dutch roeien, and Danish ro. en.wiktionary.org
Its origin is unclear, though some think the verb "rouse" gave rise to it by back-formation.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- The origin of row meaning a noisy argument is unclear. en.wiktionary.org
- Some suggest row arose by back-formation from the verb rouse. en.wiktionary.org