sculling

Everyday

1. Rowing a boat with two oars, one in each hand, or a single oar at the back of the boat. tree →
2. (swimming) Moving your hands back and forth in the water to stay still or move gently. tree →
3. (Australia, slang) Drinking a whole drink very fast in one go (adults, often beer). tree →

In the lessons

In sport, sculling is a kind of rowing at clubs and the Olympics (single sculls, double sculls). In swimming lessons, children learn sculling to float and tread water. Phrases: single sculls, sculling boat, sculling with your hands.

Examples

• She won a medal in single sculling. tree →
• In swimming we practised sculling to stay afloat. tree →
• The sculling boat glided along the river. tree →
• He was sculling with both hands to keep still. tree →
• My aunt goes sculling on the Thames every Sunday. tree →
• Sculling uses two oars, one in each hand. tree →

Note

Pronounced "SKUL-ing", like "skull" — homophone of "skull" (the bone). A "scull" is also the oar itself. In rowing (sweep), each person holds one oar with both hands; in sculling, each holds two.