sail
A piece of fabric attached to a boat and arranged such that it causes the wind to drive the boat along. The sail may be attached to the boat via a combination of mast, spars and ropes.
Other meanings
The concept of a sail or sails, as if a substance.
“Take in sail: a storm is coming.”
The power harnessed by a sail or sails, or the use of this power for travel or transport.
Synonyms
- canvas
- sheet
A kind of
- piece of cloth
Kinds of sail
- balloon sail
- fore-and-aft sail
- mainsail
- press of sail
- save-all
- square sail
Word history
From Old English "seġl".
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “sail” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.