With regard to watercraft, rowing is propulsion, usually of a small boat, by forcing one or more oars mounted on the craft to push against or move through the water. The purpose can be transport, recreation or sport.

The most common instances are those where one rower pulls on two oars, each a single straight piece mounted to an oarlock on the gunwhale of the boat, thereby moving the boat in the direction opposite that which the rower faces toward. A single oar per rower, multiple rowers (usually coordinated by a coxswain, articulated oars that facilitate efficient rowing in the direction the rower faces, maneuvers aimed at turning or at rowing in the opposite direction, and some combinations of these, are also well established aspects of rowing.

For the principal case described above, keeping equal forces on the two oars, efficiently coordinating the application of vertical and horizontal force according to the point in the cycle of rowing, and muscular strength and endurance, are major aspects of effective rowing.

Sport rowing is an important specialized case of rowing.