Meaning & use
coracle
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A small, light, round or oval boat made of a wicker frame covered with skin or cloth, traditionally used in Britain.
Grammar: Countable: one coracle, two coracles. Often used with 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- in a coracle
- paddle a coracle
The fisherman rowed his coracle across the river.
Coracles are still used on some Welsh rivers for fishing.
We saw a coracle made of animal skin in the museum.
Word forms
| plural | coracles |
|---|
Common combinations
- a coracle fisherman
- The coracle fisherman set out at dawn.
- traditional coracle
- They demonstrated how a traditional coracle is built.
- row a coracle
- It takes skill to row a coracle in strong currents.
Synonyms and how they differ
- currach
- A currach is a similar traditional boat used in Ireland and Scotland, but it is usually larger and made with a wooden frame and canvas.
- kayak
- A kayak is a narrow, closed-deck boat moved with a double-bladed paddle; a coracle is open, round, and moved with a single paddle.
Commonly confused: coracle or coral?
coracle vs coral
Coral is a hard substance formed by sea animals; a coracle is a boat. They sound similar but are completely different.
Practice
What is a coracle?
Choose one answer.
A coracle is a small round boat made of a wicker frame covered with skin or cloth. The other options are not correct meanings of the word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coracle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.