Meaning & use
pedalo
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Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A small leisure boat that you make move by turning pedals with your feet, used on lakes and at the seaside.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a pedalo, the pedalo, or pedalos.
Patterns
- rent a pedalo
- go on a pedalo
- pedal a pedalo
We rented a pedalo and spent an hour on the lake.
The children love taking a pedalo out at the seaside.
You can hire pedalos by the half-hour at the boating pond.
Word forms
| plural | pedalos |
|---|
Common combinations
- rent a pedalo
- We decided to rent a pedalo for the afternoon.
- go for a pedalo ride
- Let's go for a pedalo ride on the river.
- pedalo hire
- Pedalo hire is available near the pier.
- a four-seater pedalo
- They took out a four-seater pedalo.
Synonyms and how they differ
- paddle boat
- The usual American term for the same kind of small pedal-powered boat; in British English 'paddle boat' often means a boat moved by a paddle wheel.
- pedal boat
- A less common but clear alternative that is understood in both British and American English.
Word family
Commonly confused: pedalo or paddle?
pedalo vs paddle
A paddle is a short pole you use with your hands to move a canoe; a pedalo is moved by pedals under your feet.
Practice
We hired a ______ and slowly pedaled around the lake.
Choose one answer.
A pedalo is the small boat you move by pedaling, which fits 'pedaled around the lake'. 'Paddle' is a hand-held tool, 'canoe' is moved with a paddle, and a 'yacht' is a much larger sailing boat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pedalo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.