Sail
[seɪl]
Definition
(noun.) a large piece of fabric (usually canvas fabric) by means of which wind is used to propel a sailing vessel.
(noun.) any structure that resembles a sail.
(verb.) traverse or travel on (a body of water); 'We sailed the Atlantic'; 'He sailed the Pacific all alone'.
(verb.) travel on water propelled by wind; 'I love sailing, especially on the open sea'; 'the ship sails on' .
Typed by Clarissa--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) An extent of canvas or other fabric by means of which the wind is made serviceable as a power for propelling vessels through the water.
(n.) Anything resembling a sail, or regarded as a sail.
(n.) A wing; a van.
(n.) The extended surface of the arm of a windmill.
(n.) A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.
(n.) A passage by a sailing vessel; a journey or excursion upon the water.
(n.) To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by the action of steam or other power.
(n.) To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a water fowl.
(n.) To be conveyed in a vessel on water; to pass by water; as, they sailed from London to Canton.
(n.) To set sail; to begin a voyage.
(n.) To move smoothly through the air; to glide through the air without apparent exertion, as a bird.
(v. t.) To pass or move upon, as in a ship, by means of sails; hence, to move or journey upon (the water) by means of steam or other force.
(v. t.) To fly through; to glide or move smoothly through.
(v. t.) To direct or manage the motion of, as a vessel; as, to sail one's own ship.
Checked by Debbie
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. n. [1]. Make sail, put to sea, get under way, set sail.[2]. Plough the deep, plough the waves.
v. a. Navigate.
Typist: Lolita
Definition
n. a sheet of canvas &c. spread to catch the wind by which a ship is driven forward: a ship or ships: a trip in a vessel: a fleet: arm of a windmill: speed: a journey.—v.i. to be moved by sails: to go by water: to begin a voyage: to glide or float smoothly along.—v.t. to navigate: to pass in a ship: to fly through.—adj. Sail′able navigable.—n. Sail′-boat a boat propelled by a sail.—adjs. Sail′-borne; Sail′-broad (Milt.) broad or spreading like a sail.—n. Sail′-cloth a strong cloth for sails.—adj. Sailed having sails set.—ns. Sail′er a sailor: a boat or ship with respect to its mode of sailing or its speed; Sail′-fish the basking shark: the quill-back; Sail′-fluke the whiff; Sail′-hoop a mast-hoop; Sail′ing act of sailing: motion of a vessel on water: act of directing a ship's course: the term applied to the different ways in which the path of a ship at sea and the variations of its geographical position are represented on paper as great circle sailing Mercator's sailing middle latitude sailing oblique sailing parallel sailing plane sailing; Sail′ing-ice an ice-pack through which a sailing-vessel can force her way.—n.pl. Sail′ing-instruc′tions written directions by the officer of a convoy to the masters of ships under his care.—n. Sail′ing-mas′ter a former name for the navigating officer of a war-ship.—adj. Sail′less destitute of sails.—ns. Sail′-liz′ard a large lizard having a crested tail; Sail′-loft a loft where sails are cut out and made; Sail′-māk′er a maker of sails: in the United States navy an officer who takes charge of the sails; Sail′or one who sails in or navigates a ship: a seaman; Sail′or-fish a sword-fish; Sail′or-man a seaman; Sail′or-plant the strawberry geranium; Sail′or's-choice the pin-fish: the pig-fish; Sail′or's-purse an egg-pouch of rays and sharks; Sail′-room a room in a vessel where sails are stowed.—adj. Sail′y like a sail.—n. Sail′-yard the yard on which sails are extended.—n.pl. Stay′-sails triangular sails suspended on the ropes which stay the masts upon the foresides—from the jib-boom bowsprit and deck in the case of the foremast and from the deck in the case of the mainmast.—Sail close to the wind to run great risk; Sailors' Home an institution where sailors may lodge or aged and infirm sailors be permanently cared for.—After sail the sails carried on the mainmast and mizzen-mast; Fore-and-aft sails those set parallel to the keel of a ship as opp. to Square sails those set across the ship; Full Sail with all sails set; Make sail to spread more canvas in sailing; Set sail to spread the sails to begin a voyage; Shorten sail to reduce its extent; Strike sail to lower the sail or sails: (Shak.) to abate one's pretensions of pomp or superiority; Take the wind out of one's sails to deprive one of an advantage; Under sail having the sails spread.
Edited by Ingram
Examples
- I don't know how long it will last, but I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning how to sail my ship. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Which Pa, having been in the Purser line of life, lies a-bed in a bow-window where he can see the ships sail up and down the river. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- In a place like this I'm sure to upset something, tread on people's toes, or do something dreadful, so I keep out of mischief and let Meg sail about. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- I could sail a year in these waters! Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Here he kept a great mass of wood, high piled, ready to be ignited as a signal should a steamer or a sail top the far horizon. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Our single boatman attended to the sail; Raymond steered; Clara sat at his feet, clasping his knees with her arms, and laying her head on them. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- We set sail from Bristol, May 4, 1699, and our voyage was at first very prosperous. Jonathan Swift. Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
- We found the ship in the river, surrounded by a crowd of boats; a favourable wind blowing; the signal for sailing at her mast-head. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- If Napoleon had deemed it best to have continued his journey across the Atlantic to America he would have been compelled to pass several weeks on an uncomfortable sailing vessel. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- The transports were all sailing vessels. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Thus we went on till the ship (whose departure, too, had been several times postponed) was on the point of sailing. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- It's Captain Bursley--executive officer--sailing master. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- In another half hour he was progressing rapidly, and, but for an exceptional word now and again, he found it very plain sailing. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Leinster, much as he professed to esteem, respect and love me, went out in a sailing-boat every morning, instead of walking about with me. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- We parted: the next day--he sailed. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Near the spot we sailed from, the Holy Family dwelt when they sojourned in Egypt till Herod should complete his slaughter of the innocents. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He founded a settlement in the Rio de Oro (on Kerne or Herne Island), and sailed on past the Senegal river. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- So I dressed up as Mrs. Malaprop, and sailed in with a mask on. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- He relates, that a New-England sloop, trading there in 1752, left their second mate, William Murray, sick on shore, and sailed without him. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- We have not sailed, but three swims are equal to a sail, are they not? Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He sailed to the attack in a double line about sundown, putting the French between two fires. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Where Judy Trenor led, all the world would follow; and Lily had the doomed sense of the castaway who has signalled in vain to fleeing sails. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Monsieur Tarzan sails for America tomorrow. Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- Ten yokes of oxen dragging a boat with sails out of the sea in the morning with the line of the small waves breaking on the beach. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
- A single suit of her sails consisted of 15,563 yards of canvas. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- There's time, and to spare, for me to go and come back before the ship sails. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- The wind strikes the sails, and causes rotation; and the stronger the wind blows, the faster will the wheel rotate. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- Small black clouds thus appearing in a clear sky, in hot climates portend storms, and warn seamen to hand their sails. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
Inputed by Josiah